Hidden
by sapphire blue-ruby red roses
Summary: What will the team do when a man brings them a case and in tow are two Naru look-a-likes? They think the case is a simple haunting, but things quickly go south. Mai slowly starts to unveil Naru's past and truths, and lies, are uncovered. rate T for safety
1. Chapter 1: Unexpected

**I know I don't usually start other stories when I'm already working on one, but I couldn't stop myself this time around. I really wanted to see how you guys would react to this newest story, plus I'm hoping it'll rid me of this horrible thing called writer's block. I hate it so, so very much. Well, I hope you enjoy this story! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 1: Unexpected

Unexpected. Yes, that was the right word for the day's events.

The whole SPR team sat in the SPR office chattering like a bunch of noisy birds and joking around per usual. "That'd be a little weird don't you think?" Monk asked Yasu who sat at the head of the group. Monk sat with Ayako and John sat next to Masako.

"What would be weird?" Mai interrupted before Yasu could answer, looking away from talking with Masako and Ayako. She sat across from Yasu with Ayako and Masako on either side of her.

"Naru having a secret love child," Yasu told her simply, an evil grin curling his lips, loving the look that came over her and Masako's faces.

They both shook their heads. "No, Naru's too responsible to for that," Masako said just as Mai was saying, "No, he's too much of a prude for that." They glared at each other, sparks erupting between them instantly.

That's when said teen decided to open his door to glare at the group. "My place of work is not a café. If you're not here for business, get out and go find a life. Mai, tea," he ordered. Lin trudged back to his office from the kitchen, a disgruntled shine to his eyes though his face was carefully blank.

That was when the doorbell jingled signaling a client. All conversation stopped like someone had dropped a blanket over a noisy bird. The silence that proceeded was deafening.

A man with greying dark brown hair stood in the doorway. His suit was crisp and charcoal grey. His eyes were nearly black, but on closer inspection they were dark, dark brown. A muscle in his cheek jumped nervously as he asked, "Is this Shibuya Psychic Research?"

"Yes," Naru said coolly, stepping out of his office and shutting the door softly behind him.

Mai jumped to her feet, grabbing the tray laden with empty teacups and saucers. "Would you like a cup of tea, sir?" she asked with a bright, disarming smile, already making her way to the small kitchen.

"That would be very much appreciated. If you don't mind, could you get these two a glass of water please? They don't mind sharing," the man asked, indicating someone hiding behind his legs.

Actually, the someone turned out to be two someones. They poked their heads out from behind his legs on either side. One was a young boy of about five-years-old and the other was a girl who seemed to be the same age. They both had the same wide, curious, navy blue eyes and thick black hair as dark as a depthless pool. It was like someone had cloned the team's resident narcissist. The children's eyes travelled around, taking in everything with a practiced stared before coming to rest solely on said narcissist.

Wide grins split their faces.

Before Mai could respond, the children ran out from behind the man, clamping their arms around each of Naru's legs. "Daddy!" they chirped happily.

A stunned silence settled over the room's occupants. Mai had known Naru for three years and this was only the third time she had ever seen him truly stunned. His mouth gaped open, maybe not as wide as the rest of the team, but still.

Lin was the first to react, coming back to himself with a vengeance. He swung around away from the door to his office, glaring at Naru. "Oli-" Lin started to say with a furious growl, but a squeak from Masako stopped him for only a second, "Noll, what are they talking about?"

Naru was getting ready to answer, but the man still standing in the doorway cut him off. "Shibuya-san, are you these children's father?" he asked. He looked flabbergasted. The rest of the team held the same expression, but only because of the fact that the man had guessed who their boss was. That never happened.

He sighed in frustration at being interrupted. "No, I am **not **their father. I don't even know them," Naru said through clenched teeth. His temper seemed to be this close to exploding.

Those words brought Mai back from the living dead. She pushed a stray lock of chocolate brown hair out of her face behind her ear. "Hey kids," she said with a cheerful smile, crouching down to their eye level, "Do you want to help me with something? I'm sure 'Daddy' will appreciate it." Monk and Yasu sniggered at Naru's new nickname.

The two kids attached to Naru's legs looked at Mai. They glanced at each other and then at Naru. Cautiously, they disengaged from his legs and ran to Mai. "What are we going to help with?" they asked looking eager.

"We're going to make tea. It'll be fun," Mai said, standing up and holding out her free hand. The other held the tray with the empty teacups.

"Okay!" they shouted, excitement sparkling in their too familiar eyes. They stuck their hands in Mai's. Her small hand easily folded around their smaller ones. They disappeared into the kitchen leaving the rest of the team dumbfounded.

"Mai's mentally insane," Yasu murmured, staring after the girl in awe.

Naru rubbed his forehead in agitation. "Please sit down, sir, and tell us about your problem," he said, motioning for the man to sit down and the team to get gone.

They scoffed. They stood, but decided not to leave. Instead, they took up residence on the other side of the large room.

"Of course," the man said, quickly taking a seat.

…..

Mai stood in the kitchen, listening intently to the conversation in the lounge. The children ran around, searching for the things she had asked for. The boy handed her a teakettle with a wide grin. The girl placed the tea into her hand. "Thank you… uh, I'm sorry for not asking earlier, but what are your names?" Mai asked with an apologetic smile.

"I'm Kamin!" the little girl shouted, pointing at herself.

"I'm Tamaki!" the little boy shouted, pointing to himself.

Together, they yelled, "And we're twins!"

Mai almost dropped the teakettle full of water on her foot. "Twins?" she asked hesitantly.

"That's right!" the two chimes in unison again, giggling and running around Mai's legs.

"Mommy said that Daddy had to go before we were born and that he doesn't know about us, but she was always showing us picture. She gave us a lot of them before she left us with Auntie and all those other mean kids," Kamin said, "The other kids called Auntie's house and orphanage and that Auntie wasn't our aunt, but we never believed them." She looked proud of that fact.

Mai looked down at them with wide, sad eyes. Their mother had abandoned them at an orphanage and they'd never known their father. She hadn't even come back. Mai sighed and was pouring the tea when a photo was shoved under her nose.

"Here, lookie onee-chan, this is Daddy and Mommy when Daddy was…" They stopped talking and held their hands up next to each other, counting the fingers they held up. "Fifteen. Fifteen-years-old in London! That's what Mommy said!"

Mai stared uncomprehendingly at the picture in front of her. "_Why would Naru have been in London_?" she wondered silently, not realizing that she already believed that Naru was their father. Then the picture finally sank in, and her heart sank. How could she ever compete against this girl and Masako?

A younger version of Naru wearing a school uniform sat on a grassy field grinning up at Mai. A young woman wearing a cheerleading uniform who looked to be about seventeen-years-old sat in his lapping, grinning like she had just won a gold metal. She had platinum blonde hair framing hazel eyes. It looked like someone had run up and taken their picture while standing. Just in the corner of the picture Mai could see a smudge of black.

"Why were they in London?" Mai asked the two, her hand still tipped for pouring the tea.

"Mommy said that she was going to school at a private academy. She was in her junior year of high school and Daddy had half a year left of senior year even though he was younger than her. She said that he's a genius," Tamaki took the liberty of explaining, "She said that if Daddy hadn't left he'd have been a professor. She said that he was a pa-ra-nor-mal re-search-er." He said the words slowly because he didn't know how to say them.

Mai was too busy being stunned to notice the boiling water cascading over the edge of the teacup and onto her hand. She yipped like a wounded dog, suppressing the surge of curse words that threatened to rip up her throat and holding her hand tightly. She spun the tap on freezing and stuck her hand under the steady stream of water. She could hear everyone scrambling towards the kitchen door. "Can I see that picture please?" she asked the twins, taking the picture quickly once they had nodded. She stuffed it under her bra strap just as everyone burst through the door, Naru at the forefront of the pack.

"What happened?" he demanded, staring at her. The twins' eyes got wide, and they giggled to each other.

Mai gave everyone a pained smile indicating her throbbing hand. "I burnt myself," she gasped out.

"Idiot," Naru muttered with a sigh, grabbing her hand and examining it. He pulled over to an opposite counter, grabbing the first aid kit from the top shelf of a cabinet. His eyes strayed for a moment, glancing at the back of the corner of the photo under Mai's bra strap. "Be more careful next time."

"Will you take my case?" the man interrupted, his voice almost pleading.

Mai looked up at Naru expectantly. Naru caught her stare and sighed inwardly. "Yes, we will take your case. Leave your contact information with my assistant," she said, nodding to him, "And we well be in touch with you shortly."

…..

Naru watched Mai disappear into the kitchen before sighing. "Please sit down sir and tell us about your problem," he said, motioning for him to sit accompanied by a glare directed at the team.

They moved to the other side of the room reluctantly, disgruntled at the prospect.

The man sat down. He took a deep breath to begin. "My name is Hanagawa Suzuka. Ever since my wife died several months ago, weird things have been happening. They didn't start didn't start happening until I took in the twins, also a few months ago. My wife and I loved kids, though we couldn't have any of our own. That's why we adopted so I don't know why she'd be doing this," the man explained.

"What type of weird things?" Naru asked, noting the facts in his notebook. As Suzuka thought, Naru found his mind wandering to the girl he knew stood in the kitchen. He'd watched her enough times to instantly conjure up an image of her.

She'd be standing in front of the stove, a hand tapping out a tune as she waited for the water to boil. Her other hand would be twirling a strand of hair around her finger. She'd be resting her weight on one leg letting her other one come to a bend. That was how the scene was supposed to look, but there were two added additions this time. It still looked natural none-the-less.

Naru snapped to attention with an inaudible growl as Suzuka began to speak again.

"Well, let's see, there's door opening and closing by themselves, footsteps and knocking noises at night, you can hear voices whenever you're alone, fires spring up in the middle of the living room, objects being thrown clear across the room, glass breaking all the time. It's kind of crazy," Suzuka told them, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

No one got the chance to answer because they heard a loud yelp of pain emanate from the kitchen. In a matter of seconds, everyone was on their feet except for Suzuka. They hurried to slam the door open to find Mai with her hand under water. "What happened?" Naru demanded, glaring at her.

"I burnt my hand," she said sheepishly, giving him a pained smile.

"Idiot," Naru muttered, quickly walking to her side and grabbing her hand. He examined it like a doctor, cataloging where the worst burns were. "Be more careful next time," he told her sternly after dragging her over to a cupboard that held the first aid kit. He spread a salve over her burns before bandaging them. His eyes glanced over her, stopping on the photo hastily tucked under her bra strap. It was facing away giving him a glimpse of familiar cursive handwriting.

"Will you take my case?" Suzuka asked, standing in the doorway.

Naru glanced down to find Mai staring up at him expectantly. With a sigh, he said, "Yes, we will take your case. Leave your contact information with my assistant and we will be contacting you soon." Lin gestured for the man to follow him.

Suzuka bowed deeply. "Thank you so much," he said then held out his hand, "Come on Tamaki, Kamin." They put their hands in his and he pulled them out the door.

"Thank you onii-chan and one-chan. See you soon," they called together, waving back at Naru and Mai. They grinned before turning to follow.

**I hope you liked this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it, surprisingly. I usually don't have this much fun writing the first chapter. Expect the next one sometime next week :D Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2: Brotherly Fighting

**I hope you guys like this chappy. I hope it doesn't confuse you too much, but I swear, it'll all be explained. Maybe not all in this story, but definitely in the sequel which I have already started planning =D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 2: Brotherly Fighting

Naru sat in his office on the window sill, staring down into the city. He wasn't seeing any of I though. His mind was focused on the lingering memories of his deceased brother. He remembered the days they had spent with a blonde cheerleader while still in high school.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't see or hear the part-timer standing in front of his desk until she spoke. "Hey Naru, are you feeling alright?" Mai asked, setting the tray of tea on his desk.

Naru startled, turning to look at her. He stared at the tea she held out to him for a long moment before taking the cup. He didn't answer her question, but instead asked one of his own. "What's the picture you're hiding under your bra strap?"

Mai almost dropped the tea tray. "Nothing," she said too quickly. She jumped around, trying to make for a quick escape.

"You think I'm going to believe that?" he asked her with a scrutinizing gaze, standing up and making his way over to her. She went rigid as she felt him standing behind her.

His hands started to reach around her, crawling across her stomach and up her front. Before he could pluck the photo from her shirt Mai spun around, dancing towards the door. "I'm going to go home and get my bag packed. See you tomorrow," she called, making her escape.

Naru sat back down on the window sill, taking a sip of the tea Mai had brought him. He sighed and stabbed a hand through his hair. What was he going to do with her?

…..

The moment Mai shut the door behind her she slumped against it. She pressed her trembling hand to her chest, feeling her heart throb through her ribcage. That was a close one. He'd been so close. His hand had trailed across her skin. He'd almost gotten the photo. She could still fell his touch.

Her mind jumped between two different sets of thoughts and emotions. Relief at the fact that the little secret she'd discovered had not been uncovered just yet. And disappointment at the fact that she didn't have his touch anymore.

Shaking her head dismissively, Mai pushed off from the door. Gathering her belonging, she disappeared from the SPR office before a certain narcissist could attempt anything else. Her hand stayed pressed against her chest right over the photo. It wasn't until she was safely on the train home did she pull it out.

The happiness just emanating from the happy participants in the photo saddened her. She wondered if she'd ever find a love like the one she saw there.

"Ex-boyfriend with a new girlfriend?" asked a tall boy behind her, giving her a teasing and flirtatious grin, "That must be a hard cookie to swallow. For a foreigner she's a beautiful flower, but so are you."

Mai blushed immediately. She wasn't sure if it was from the thought of Naru being her boyfriend, the proximity of the boy, or compliment she'd just received. He was nearly leaning over her to look at the picture. "Uh, no. Um, this is my boss. His twins gave me the picture," she explained in a stutter. Her hands tightened around the cold metal pole she was currently attached to.

"Oh, twins you say? He seems pretty young to have children. How old is he and his children?" the guy asked, leaning closer to examine the picture more closely.

Mai didn't know what prompted her to tell the truth, but it came spilling from her mouth none-the-less. "He's 21-years-old and his twins are five. They said this was taken when he was fifteen so it's kind of old," she explained, looking longingly at the picture.

"Woo, twenty-one and already has children. That's a blow to the self-esteem. I'm gonna wager a guess and say you're nineteen or twenty," the boy said with a whistle.

Mai's head jerked up, making eye contact. She noted the difference between Naru's blue eyes and the boy's hazel eyes that seemed the perfect mixture of chocolate brown and emerald green. He was obviously foreign and as handsome as Naru. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"Just a guess." He smiled down at her. "So, what kind of job do you have?"

Mai laughed. "'I'm a ghost hunter at Shibuya Psychic Research," she unwittingly told the boy.

His beautiful eyes grew large. "Whoa! That's so cool!" he exclaimed. The train began screeching to a halt. As it stopped, Mai was shoved into the boy's chest.

"Sorry," she said quickly, pushing away from him, her face hot with embarrassment.

"No problem," he said cheerfully, "Well this is my stop. Stay cheerful, pretty flower. I'm sure we'll see each other soon." He waved to her as he disembarked the train.

She gasped and flung herself at the door before it could close. "What's your name?" she called, spotting him in the crowd in an instant.

"Ash," he said, turning towards her. The smile he gave her was breathtaking. "Ash Willows." Then the doors slid shut, and Mai was speeding away from the boy, her cheeks burning neon red and the picture still clutched in her hand.

…..

Mai's eyes roamed in and out of focus, her mind on other things. Throughout the morning, she'd periodically space out leaving her wondering what had occurred during those times. Seeing as the picture was still safely stashed in her pocket each time, she hadn't come into contact with Naru since coming to work. Hopefully. Well, at least while out of it.

At the moment, the resident narcissist was hidden in his office. Waves of brooding anger flooded under the door prompting both the assistances to give the room a wide berth.

As for the cause of sudden rise in emotion, both were quite unsure. All Mai knew was that it had begun during one of her blackouts when she'd apparently brought the young businessman tea. She was hesitant to find out the cause.

Though the silent Chinese man would not give any indication, he had some ideas swirling in the back of his mind about his charges sudden dark mood. None of them seemed to benefit the boy in the least. Half of them included the girl standing in front of him. It would be some time until they found out that the reason was much simpler than either of them could ever imagine.

…..

It was early in the morning. Naru sat on his windowsill once more, watching the people down on the streets. His mind still rested on the picture Mai had hidden from him. He spotted a certain brown head on hair weaving in and out of people flowing against her, dragging a small bag behind her. He glanced at his watch. She was an hour early. If he'd had less control of his face he'd have let his jaw drop to the floor.

With a sigh, he slid back into his chair. He had a file open on his legs and his cheek in his hand when Mai stumbled in. Her eyes were flat as if she had died and then been resurrected in the last few hours. They stayed focused on the ground, not taking their usual room around the office. After she'd set the tea cup on his desk she stared off.

Naru watched her cautiously, waiting for her eyes to flick to him. They didn't. "Mai…" he said cautiously. And again, they didn't move towards him at all.

Instead, the word, or rather name, that slipped through her lips made him stiffen. "Ash," she murmured, turning and taking her leave, "Such pretty eyes." Irrational jealousy filled him, spilling out in a torrent. Try as he might to suppress it, it reared its ugly head making itself well known. It dredged up anger with it as its companion in ruling. Confusion followed even as he tried once again to stuff the feelings into a tiny box.

Naru pulled a mirror out of the top right hand drawer of his desk and stared into it. He called out to his brother, and waited. An hour later he was still staring into it with no answer. It remained infuriatingly silent. For the past hour he'd been attempting to contact his dead twin to no avail. He was obviously ignoring him.

"Gene, I do not appreciate being ignored, respond already!" Naru said through tight lips and clenched teeth, repressing the urge to shake the mirror. That would get him nowhere. "Seriously Gene, stop being an immature asshole. I'm not in the mood for games."

His image slowly morphed to that of a younger fifteen-year-old version of himself. The mirrored version was laughing. "Aw, can't you take a little joke?" he asked.

"Not when I'm looking for important answers," Naru replied disdainfully.

Gene scoffed. "Important my ass. You're just jealous that Mai might be interested in a guy other than you. You're scared that she won't take a second glance at you and the guy will sweep her away like Cinderella," Gene said with a smug grin. When Naru didn't deny it, his grin grew evil and mischievous. "I'm right. Oh, that's so cute, little brother, but sadly, I am not her stalker and do not know how much help I will be. Here's an idea, why don't you just tell her everything?"

Instead of answering, Naru changed the topic, something he rarely had to resort to. "Do you remember Christina? The cheerleader from high school?" he asked, his eyes scanning his office absent mindedly like he'd find something on the bare walls.

"'Course I do. I dated her for a year. She was amazing. Why do ya' ask?" he asked, tilting his head to the side like a curious dog.

"I took this case yesterday. It seems rudimentary, a simple haunting," Naru said slowly, looking back at his twin.

"Yeah, so?"

"The man, the client I took the case from, had a pair of children with him, twins by the way they acted and looked. They looked like…us," he said slowly, looking away from his brother as he conjured their image in his mind, "They had your personality and they're five-years-old."

Gene was silent for a long moment, contemplating. "Could it have been a coincidence?" he offered cautiously as if he'd get bombed for the mere suggestion.

"I don't believe in coincidences," Naru said matter-of-factly, "I don't know why they and we are so similar, but I will find out the reason."

Silence fell between them. Neither boy looked at the other, taking to staring off in random directions. After a few moments Gene finally spoke, "So, about Mai and this new guy-" Naru cut him off.

"No," he said simply.

"But if you tell her first-"

"There's nothing to tell."

"That's a load of BS and you know it. Who are you trying to kid Noll? It may not be obvious to the others, but it is me. The longer you deny it, the further she'll drift from you," Gene reprimanded, his temper flaring.

"No one can drift from me if no one is close to me. I'm not denying anything."

"Are you really that blind?" Gene finally started shouting, "The longer you lie to yourself, the longer you'll be unhappy. I'm dead and you can't change that no matter how much you want to! It's time to move on. Face it, you're on love with-"

"Shut up!" Naru shouted, slamming the mirror face down onto his desk. He could barely hear it shatter through his fury. He shook with it, wanting to punch a wall and throw things. What right did he have to talk to him like a child? He was perfectly fine alone…

He anger slowly ebbed away as he felt the bite of pain spread up his arm, leaving him feeling empty and shaky. He sat down heavily in his chair, covering his have with his hands. What was he going to do?

**Hope you liked it. I certainly loved writing it. Stayed tuned next week for a new chappy. Review please :D**


	3. Chapter 3: Interruption

**Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 3: Interruptions

Mai jumped out of her skin as she heard Naru shout. She spun away from the stove almost flinging herself out the door. Lin was already at Naru's office door, watching her approach. His hand was on the door knob, but hadn't yet grasped it.

Before she could even open her mouth Lin said, "You should probably go finish making the tea. I'll talk to him first. After that you can bring it to him and make sure he's alright, or interrogate him yourself." He could see the worry etched into her brow. Naru was sure to be even colder now, and Lin wanted to make sure he was in his right mind before Mai braved his icy fiery.

Mai nodded, turning back to go into the kitchen. She stood at the stove, nervously tapping out a rhythm with her fingers, jumping up and down on the balls of her feet. Her mind was racing. Worry filled every nook and crany in her.

Finally, twenty minutes later, Lin came into the kitchen. He looked at the nervous wreck of a girl. "Mai, you should probably take him some tea," he said as he walked up behind her.

She startled. Whirling around, she let out a sigh of relief when she saw who it was. "You scared the crap out of me. How is he?"

"Not happy, but he'll live. He's in a pretty foul mood now," he told her, sighing inwardly. "It was just a… lively discussion gone bad." _Gone very badly_, he added silently to himself.

"Oh, okay," she murmured, clutching the tray in her hands. Her eyes stayed focused on the amber liquid in the small cup, watching the steam swirl from its surface.

Lin sighed uncharacteristically, running a hand through his hair. His eyes darted to Naru's office door before moving to the girl standing in front of him. Maybe a visit from the usually cheerful girl would do him some good. _Teenagers these days_, he thought despairingly before sighing again.

Plastering on a small, very fake smile he put a hand on Mai's shoulder. Her eyes flicked up to lock with his as he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "Why don't you take that to him now?" he prompted.

"Yeah," Mai said, worry still swirling in her eyes, but covered easily with a bright smile. She padded over to Naru's office door oblivious of Lin slipping silently out the front door with his cellphone pressed to his ear. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she rapped quietly on the door with her knuckles.

"What?" came Naru's irritated growl.

Mai's breath caught in her throat, but she forced herself to open the door. "I brought you a cup of tea," she explained, her voice trembling. She forced it not to crack.

He didn't reply. He sat behind his desk, a hand covering his eyes. Mai saw his jaw tighten at her voice though. Something cracked in her. Did he hate her? She wasn't sure. She shuffled over to the desk, setting the teacup in front of him.

Naru reached for the cup with his stinging hand. Blood ran down his wrist from his palm, staining the cuff of his shirt.

Mai gasped, grabbing his hand. At the moment she didn't care if he did hate her or not. "What happened to your hand?" she cried, using the edge of her shirt to dab at the blood. More took its place instantly, welling from a deep gas down the center of his palm.

"It's nothing. It's just a scratch," Naru said, not answering her question. He attempted to pull his hand back, but Mai snatched it back.

"It is not nothing," she told him sternly, pressing her thumb to the but hard. She smiled triumphantly as Naru's face contorted in pain. "See? Not nothing." She took his other hand, dragging him from the room and to the kitchen.

Naru tried to ignore the feel of her soft hand against his as she meticulously bandaged his hand, but that was nearly impossible. She was standing so close that he could smell the perfume she'd used that morning, her usually fruity smelling one. He stared down at her face, her eyebrows pulled together in concentration.

She made an appreciative sound and looked up at him, freezing as their eyes locked. Her breath caught in her throat. She was suddenly highly aware of the small distance between them. Their faces were mere inches apart. It'd be so very easy to bridge that small distance.

At that moment, her imagination decided to take her on a wild rampage, bounding from a simple kiss to more intimate things. Her face colored with the thought, but she didn't have the resolve to look away.

She had no way of knowing that Naru's mind, as rational as it may be, had taken the same course of thought. Yes, that was right. He was a constant surprise, even to himself. His hormones were wreaking havoc on his better judgment as effectively as they already had to Mai's. As consequence, he slowly began to lean slowly towards her. Their lips were just centimeters apart…

Then someone decided to burst through the front door and ruin the entire scene.

"Mai! Naru-chan! We're finally here!" came Monk's loud, deep voice, "Thanks to someone we are late."

The sound of a purse connecting with the back of someone's head rang out. "Well, excuse you! It's all your fault that we're late, not mine!" Ayako shouted.

Mai and Naru snapped back to themselves, their eyes growing wide with realization. They jumped away from each other, refusing to make eye contact again.

Mai's face burned bright and hot as she stumbled from the kitchen in her haste to leave it. "Hey Monk," she said too cheerfully, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Uh, we're leaving for the case today?" Masako said in a 'you're dumber than you look' tone.

"Oh," Mai said dumbly, not knowing what to do next. Naru walked out of the kitchen behind her, and a mischievous grin spread across Yasu's face.

He sidled up beside Mai, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "So Mai, I was just wondering… what were you doing in the kitchen with Naru-chan just now? You look a little red in the face," he said casually, grinning evilly as he received the desired reaction.

"W-what are you talking about?" she sputtered, "We weren't doing anything." She could feel her face growing hotter by the second and knew that her face would be fire engine red in no time.

Ayako, on her own bandwagon, pointed to a single red rose on Mai's desk. "Looks like you've got an admirer," she said, throwing Yasu a conspiratorially grin.

"What?" Mai asked, ducking under Yasu's arm and hurrying over to her desk. She plucked up the card from under the flower and stared at what had been written.

_A flower for the pretty flower_, the card said in bold, curvy handwriting. There was no name, but she knew who it must be from. As she stared at the card her eyes slowly went unfocussed. She felt herself growing lightheaded. It was the feeling she got right before she went into a daze.

Before her subconscious could push her down any further or the others could begin the teasing, Naru cut in with a steely tint to his words that promised death. "We must be at the Hanagawa household by one this afternoon. We have a four hour drive and the van is not packed. Stop screwing around and get to work." With that, he slammed his office door behind him.

Everyone stared after him, even Mai, with wide eyes. Finally, Yasu broke the silence. "Geez, what crawled up his ass and died?" he commented, moving away towards an open box.

…..

"Mai!" Naru shouted, finally succeeding in pulled Mai out of another one of her dazes.

"Huh? What?" she asked, shaking her head to clear it of the dizzying fog and staring at him. The van had finally come to a halt after four hours. Naru stood outside the van, the passenger door wide open letting evening sunlight and the sweet smell of grass and strawberries fill the front seat. "What is it?"

"We're here," he said, regarding her with a calculating glared. Somehow, Mai knew she was a huge reason for his foul mood, but she didn't know in what way. What had she done in her daze **this **time?

"Oh. Oh!" She scrambled from the front seat, tumbling from the car in a frilly mess. For the first time that day she noticed what she was wearing. A frilly pastel green top over a frillier brown and forest green skirt. She made a face. Something about her attire made her think of the boy, Ash, from the subway with the eyes that were so different from Naru's. Jumping to her feet, Mai dusted herself off and stared up at the house.

It was a rather small two-story with huge windows everywhere. Old wooden steps led up to a small porch with a comfy looking love seat in front of one large window. Farther back, a dark brown door was visible. The house sat on fifteen acres of sprawling orchards and strawberry fields. A small gravel driveway led up to the house from the road which dead-ended in a cul-de-sac.

Behind them, Monk's car lumbered up the drive, parking next to the van. Out of it spilled John, Masako, Yasu, Monk and Ayako, most of who were moaning and groaning. Monk cracked his back before coming to stand with Mai and Naru.

"So when are we getting this party started?" he asked, looking to Naru with his hands on his hips.

"As soon as everyone stops pissing and moaning, and grabs a box. If you hate it that much then you can just go back home. I have no patience for whiners," Naru said icily, a box already in hand as he walked away.

Everyone instantly shut their mouths.

"Looks like someone is on his man period," Yasu muttered under his breathe to the team. They struggled to smother their giggled as they grabbed a box or monitor.

**Sorry for the short chapter this time. I promise the next one will be longer. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for next week's chapter. Review please :D**


	4. Chapter 4: Tree House

**Sorry for the late chapter. I might get the next chapter for "Ill Fate Reunion" up today too, but I'm not too sure. I'm headed off to Disney with my orchestra group tomorrow for Spring Break, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to get two more chapters up this week. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 4: Tree House

"Onee-chan, Daddy!" Tamaki and Kamin screeched as Suzuka pulled the door open to allow us in. A huge albino German Shepard bolted out after them. The three plowed into Mai and Naru, nearly knocking them off of their feet. They steadied themselves on each other, not realizing that they had their arms wrapped around each other's waists.

"I'm not your fa-" Naru instantly started to correct, but a well-placed elbow to the ribs had him gasping for breath instead.

Mai hooked her finger in his collar next, and jerked him down to her level. "Give them _at least _this much. Their mother dumped them in an orphanage, and they've never known their father," she hissed angrily in his ear before quickly releasing him and grinning down at the twins. "Hi guys," she said cheerfully.

"We have something to show you!" they cried in union, each latching onto one of her arms in an attempt to drag her off of the porch. The dog slid under them instantly, acting like a seat.

"I'm sorry, but I'm working right now. You'd have to ask Daddy if I can go or not," she said, looking over her shoulder to grin at Naru who gave a huge sigh.

"Please, Daddy, pleeeeeeeease," they pleaded, clinging to each of his pants legs. They gave him puppy dog eyes in hopes of softening him. Though Mai knew Naru would never fall for the eyes –she should know, she'd already tried- she knew he couldn't deal one bit with whining.

"Fine. Fine, I don't care. Mai, give your box to Monk, but you will be on night watch tonight," he told her without looking at her. Instead, his eyes were watching the children still hanging from Mai's arms.

She grimaced as she handed the box over to Monk. "Sure thing, Naru," she said. With that, Tamaki and Kamin squealed in anticipation, dragging her back down the steps and around the side of the house.

She found herself in a large, fenced off portion of the backyard. Cat toys and dog toys lay around the yard like a toy graveyard. In one corner, there towered a huge oak. High in its branches a tree house looked over the fields.

"Wow," she breathed, a childish grin spreading across her face. The dog ran by knocking her on her butt.

"It's our tree house," Kamin supplied, then turned to the dog wagging her tail happily at her, "Rex, don't be mean to Onee-chan. Stay there and be good." The German Shepard cocked her head to the side, like she was confused. "Come on. It's up here." Tamaki and Kamin pulled Mai to her feet and over to the small wooden planks that were screwed into the tree sideways. They led up to a small trapdoor close to the edge of the walkway.

Mounting the makeshift stores after Kamin, Tamaki looked over his shoulder at Mai. "Come on, Onee-chan, it's up here," he called back, scrambling up through the trapdoor.

"Oh! Right," she said quickly, cautiously placing her foot on the first plank. When it didn't break under her weight, she started climbing. She pulled herself up through the trapdoor, swinging her legs up into the room.

Kamin and Tamaki carefully lowered the trapdoor before grinning at her. They scurried over to an old-fashioned steam trunk leaving Mai to observe the small room.

One wall was completely painted with chalkboard paint. Chalk drawings and words littered its surface. Right behind Mai sat two beanbags. Both were navy blue. A bookshelf sat opposite the chalkboard wall filled from top to bottom with books. Stuffed animals and coloring books covered the floor. Origami cranes of all shapes, sizes and colors hung from the ceiling or sat anywhere they could find purchase. There had to be more than two thousand all together.

"Onee-chan! Onee-chan! Look, we found this yesterday after we got home. There's lots of pictures of Mommy and Daddy in here," the twins said excitedly, holding out a thick photo album. It was black with a gold graduation cap on the front. Silver handwriting of all different types almost obscured the black background. Everything was in English efficiently making it impossible for Mai to read.

"What's this?" Mai asked. Even though she knew it had to be a graduation photo album and that it had to be their mother's, she was unsure of whether she truly wanted to risk tearing her heart to shreds.

"It's Mommy's pictures from high school," Kamin supplied with a huge smile.

Mai smiled tentatively, taking the album from the twin's hand. They scurried over to sit on either side of her. She smiled to herself, opening the front cover.

She was met with the stunning photo of the blonde dressed in a golden dress that fell just above her knees and brought out the gold in her hazel eyes. She wore her hair in a loose knot on the top of her head, curls falling free to frame her face. It was held in place by an emerald encrusted clip. A corsage with a red rose was securely attached to her wrist. Beside her stood a Naru in a tux, his vest and pocket kerchief the same golden color as the cheerleader's dress. They stood in front of a lavishly decorated gym.

On the edge of the picture there was that black smear again.

"Your mother is extremely beautiful," Mai complimented, smiling softly at the twin's huge grins. She flipped through the next couple pages only glancing at the pictures. Those were all of the couple and their friends dancing and having fun. In each one, that black smear was present.

With each picture, Mai could feel something inside of her peeling and pulling. It threatened to break, but had enough strength left to stay together. She wondered if she'd really be able to keep at together, if she really had a chance with her crush.

The pictures after that were all of the couple doing various things at school. Sitting at lunch, running on the track, swimming, playing soccer, studying in the library, laughing with teachers… and so they went on. In all of these photos the black smudge at the edge of the picture of in the corner was present.

Its existence stabbed at Mai, demanding to be noticed, tugging on the strings of her memory. Images of Naru flipped through her memory, though why, she had no idea. She pulled the first picture she'd seen of the couple from the picture, comparing it to the one in front of her. It was a far off picture off the couple lying in the grass in the middle of the track field.

Something about that darkness reminded her of Naru. She didn't know why, and she didn't know how she was going to find that out, but she would one way or another.

Something at the back of the photo album caught her attention. She pulled free the picture and held it up to look at it. Her mind slowly processed it. When she finally realized what she was staring at, she let out a loud gasp.

…..

"Shibuya-san, this is the room I have set aside that you requested," Suzuka said, opening the door to a large room.

It sat in a corner of the second floor, overlooking the backyard. The walls making up the corner were almost completely the windows. Two long tables sat against the wall to their left. A large coffee table sat in the middle of the room surrounded by chairs.

Naru set down the box he'd been carrying and wandered over to the window. He stared down into the backyard and orchards. He could see Mai outside the fence of the backyard playing hide and seek in the orchards with the twins and the dog. Though her laughter could not penetrate the window, Naru could clearly hear it in his head.

He watched the three intently. A stray thought filtered into his mind, "They look like a family." He made a face at the foreign thought. The fluttering of the grass around the three drew his attention. It was as if there was a breeze, though Naru was absolutely certain there wasn't one.

"Hey Naru, how do you want us to set up?" Monk asked, dropping the shelves and box he'd been carrying beside Naru's.

When Naru didn't answer, Monk looked up to see what he was doing. He shot Yasu –who had already noticed their preoccupied boss- a conspiratorial grin. They crept towards him, keeping as silent as possible.

"Um, what are you guys doing?" John asked from across the room, watching them approach their boss.

"Shh," they hissed at him, stopping dead in their tracks when Naru shifted his weight. Lin smirked to himself knowing that whatever they were planning, they'd pay for it dearly once it was executed.

When they were right behind Naru they glanced over his shoulder to find Mai lying in the tall grass with the twins and the dog. Their grins widened as they got into position. "Hey, Naru-chan, what cha lookin' at?" they shouted, each shooting out a hand to slap one of his cheeks.

Naru was snapped back to reality with the sudden and immediate jolt of pain. His cheeks stung and his hand throbbed angrily. His eyes narrowed in anger. With a slight slip of his control, the air around him began to crackle with released energy.

"Uh oh!" the pair cried in terror, sprinting away from their boss. They snatched up several cameras and microphones, running out the door with a hurried, "We'll go set up cameras!" thrown over their shoulders.

With a long suffering sigh, Naru let the energy die. He took one last glance out the window at the girl and twins before getting to work.

…..

Mai lay curled up on one of the many chairs around the room. Her breathe came out soft and even signaling to Naru that she'd already fallen into a deep sleep.

The sun had long since fallen behind the mountains. Stars and the moon popped out, upstaging the sun with their brilliance. The sky was a deep, navy blue letting everyone know it was about time for bedtime.

"Hey Naru-chan, who's on night watch?" Monk asked even as Ayako and Masako filed from the room.

"I'll be taking it," Naru answered, closing his book and setting it aside to level a look at Monk.

"Right…" he said, his voice trailing off as both their eyes land on the sleeping Mai.

Before Monk could offer, Naru said, "I'll take her. Go to bed."

Monk gave him a dubious look, but nodded all the same. He left the room followed by Yasu, John, and last but not least, Lin who was giving his young charge a calculating look. "Don't do anything you might regret, Noll," Lin advised before shutting the door.

"You don't think I know that?" he muttered, glaring after Lin. He looked back at Mai, and with a sigh, got up. He looked down at her, watching her shoulders softly rise and fall, her hair fluttering with every breath.

On impulse, he reached out his hand and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Mai shifted in her sleep causing his fingers to freeze against her soft cheek. A smile grew slowly across her face and, and she mumbled, "Naru…"

Naru felt some of the anger and jealousy he'd been spouting that whole day lessen with that simple action. She may have been concentrating on another guy while awake, but he was the one she dreamt of. That made everything better.

Finally satisfied, Naru carefully lifted Mai into his arms. He was surprised by how light she was, how small she felt in his arms. Her arms slid around his neck. She pulled herself up enough to kiss him lightly on the mouth before settling down with her head resting on his chest.

Naru stared wide-eyed down at the girl in his arms for a long moment. Taking it in stride, Naru pulled Mai closer against his body, tightening his arms around her, and set off for her room.

**Oh dear, for some reason I've had no idea what to do with John. He's honestly the hardest person for me to write. Any suggestions on how to include him? Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review :D**


	5. Chapter 5: Giving In

**I originally wrote this chapter in present tense, mostly because I actually forgot what tense I was writing in xD So if you come across a sentence that sounds rather odd, that's probably the reason. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 5: Giving In

_Ghostly fog slithered around Mai's ankles, hugging her shoulders. The moon shone dully through the haze, just a small orb that has lost its shine. If there were any buildings or trees they were swallowed by the quickly thickening fog._

_Mai turned slowly on her heels, trying to catch sight of anything around her. This disturbed the fog. It swirled menacingly around her, pressing closer than it had before. It seemed to be sucking her of something. Her life? Her power? Maybe even her memories._

_Someone approached her out of the fog. Mai went still, watching their progress. The fog seemed to recoil from the person, slithery tendrils crushing in on themselves. Once the person's features came into view, Mai's face lit up with recognition. "Naru," she said with a sigh of relief._

"_Hello Mai," Dream Naru said, holding out his arms for her._

_She instantly barreled into them, wrapping her thin arms tightly around his waist. She knew this would never happen in real life so she drank it up. Something about his smell and the way he held her felt different than real life knowing it from the many times he'd saved her, but she shoved it away to enjoy the moment._

_Several heartbeats later they finally pulled apart. One had a huge, childish grin, her eyes staying focused on the other's face. One had a grim frown pulling down the corners of his lips, his eyes darting around nervously._

_Mai's grin faltered. "What's the matter?" she asked, staring intently at his expression._

_His eyes flickered down to hers before glancing around once more. "We should hurry. I don't think it's safe here," he murmured, taking Mai's hand in his._

_He pulled her through the mist, head always swiveling around like he was afraid something would attack them. Suddenly, he came to a jerky stop, staring at something in front of him._

"_What? What's the matter?" Mai asked, glancing around him to figure out what had Dream Naru so jumpy._

_What she saw made her jaw fall slack, her eyes go wide. She looked between Dream Naru and the scene wondering how this could be. How could that have been one of the __**ghost's **__memories?_

_Dream Naru's hand tightened around hers as they settle in to watch the memory._

_Two identical boys with silky, ink black hair and sorrowful midnight blue eyes. One stood in the middle of the small room with a bored look. Things flew around him, changing direction at random. Windows and mirrors cracked or burst, shards accompanying the flying objects._

_The other boy stood watching him. His eyes were hard, his mouth turned down in a frown. After a moment, he stepped forward, placing a hand on the other boy's shoulder. Instantly, everything came crashing to the ground._

_Dream Naru spun around, pulling Mai back into the mist, hurrying away from the scene. Once they were far far away and the fog pressed in on her again, he stopped. He glanced nervously around again before looking down at her. "Be careful during this case," he told her, holding her hand tightly, "There are many things that can go wrong. Be careful around the twins and… me. Don't mention this dream to me. It is… not relevant." Those words were hesitant, but strong, almost demanding._

"_Why?" she asked, surprised by what he was asking, "What's wrong with the twins?"_

_He was opening his mouth to answer when something caught his attention. "What's that?" he suddenly asked, staring at something in Mai's pocket._

_Mai looked down at herself. Something inside her pocket shone with a soft, buttery glow. She wondered what she could have possibly stuck in there. Then she remembered that afternoon and a thick red blush coated her cheeks. "Uh, um, it's a um, photo of…" she stammered out._

_She was saved from having to give a coherent answer because out of nowhere she was thrust out of the dream and back into reality. Just before darkness closed around her, she heard Dream Naru call her name._

…..

Mai shot up in bed, breathing hard from the sudden rejection of her dream. The room was dark leaving her blind, but she could hear both Ayako and Masako breathing evenly. Masako was snoring. How unladylike. Mai was still in her clothes from that afternoon. She remembered the photo in her pocket and pulled it out.

Moving almost silently from her bed, Mai padded over to the window. She pulled back the curtain letting in a sliver of moonlight. It was enough to illuminate the small picture Kamin and Tamaki had decided to give her because it lacked their mother.

This picture was of two identical adolescent boys of at least eleven or twelve years old. They sat on a huge rock in the middle of a golden field. One had a bored look to his eyes with only the faintest hint of a smile curling up his lips. The other boy had his arms wrapped around the first boy's neck, leaning against his back with a huge smile splitting his face.

Mai stared at them, two different types of warmth spreading all the way to the tips of her toes. They were so handsome even as young boys. Though she didn't know who the smiling boy was, she knew exactly who the sullen faced tween was.

"Naru," she almost sighed.

Hurrying over to her bed, she stripped out of yesterday's clothing and pulled on her night clothes with the photo tucked safely in her pants pocket. She padded out of the room, slipping down the corridor.

Light spilled from the cracked door of the base. Mai peeked around the edge of the door. She suppressed a giggle at the sight before her. Naru sat in front of the monitors wrestling with Kamin and Tamaki. "It's time to go to bed," he said sternly, but they refused. They giggled maniacally, jumping up and down on his lap.

He sighed in exasperation, wrapping an arm around each of their middles to keep them from toppling to the floor. "Mai, I swear…" he started to mutter under his breath, but Mai cut him off.

"You swear what?" Mai asked with a knowing smile.

Naru's head snapped around so fast that Mai was sure he'd given himself whiplash. Supporting her theory, he began rubbing the back of his neck with an audible groan.

"Onee-san!" the twins cried happily in unison, attempting, and failing, to fling themselves onto her legs.

"Are you guys giving Daddy trouble?" Mai asked, padding into the room and crouching beside Naru's chair with a teasing smile.

"No!" Tamaki and Kamin shouted just as Naru muttered a sullen, "Yes."

Mai's smile widened. "Aw, how cute. What are you supposed to be doing right now?" she asked in a curious tone, raising her eyebrows.

"Sleeping," the three said together with the same exact tone and facial expression making Mai think they could truly be his children.

She giggled behind her hand making Naru scowl and the twins smile uncontrollably. "Mai, don't get them even more riled up," Naru reprimanded with an icy glare.

"Oh come on, Daddy. You know you love it," Mai said with an innocent smile up at him, "You guys just want to spend time with Daddy, don't you?"

"That's right," they instantly agreed.

"See? No bad motives, plus they are just adorable," she complimented running a hand playfully through both of their messes of hair. They screamed playfully, swatting at her hands like a pair of kittens after a ball of yarn.

"Well, I have work to do and I can't do it with them playing on my lap," Naru interjected with an angry scowl.

Mai thought for a moment. "How about this," she purposed in her best politicians voice, holding up a finger, "Why don't you go lay down with Daddy in his bed then when you guys fall asleep, Daddy can go back to work. Sound good?"

"No! Our bed!" they shouted, kicking their feet. Tamaki's were covered by his footie pajamas while Kamin's were bare, her princess nightgown falling just past her knees. This was one of the only distinctions the pair had made between each other.

Mai grinned. "Alright, then your beds," she said.

"And you too," Tamaki said.

"But I can't, I have to sit here and watch the monitors," she told them apologetically with a shrug.

"Why doesn't Mai put you two to bed?" Naru proposed.

They shook their heads vigorously. "No, both of you," they decided.

Naru stared at Mai for a long moment, his eyes almost pleading though a deep scowl was etched into his face. Finally, he released her from his gaze. Looking down at the twins, he sighed in resignation, "Fine. If both Mai and I lay down with you guys, you have to promise to go to bed. No more playing around."

"Okay!" they shouted, happy, "Promise!" They slid from Naru's lap. Tamaki grabbed Mai's hand, Kamin grabbed Naru's, and together they dragged the reluctant pair down the hall.

They were pulled into a medium sized bedroom. The walls were a light gray with dark blue curtains hanging over the window. A queen sized bed stood in the middle of the room. The only thing indicating that children lived in the room, were the toy box on the window sill and the stuffed animals on the bed.

Tamaki and Kamin crawled into the middle of the bed, each hugging a stuffed bunny to their chest. They patted the spots beside them. With another sigh, Naru lay down next to Tamaki and Mai lay down next to Kamin. The twins snuggled together facing each other.

Mai and Naru watched each other in the dark for a long time before sleep finally won out over Mai. Her eyes slid shut and she let herself slip into oblivion, but not before she felt Naru reach over and gently take her hand.

**I hope you liked it! :D I actually wrote this on my way down to Disney. Review please :D**


	6. Chapter 6: Lost

**Sorry for the super late chapter. I hope you enjoy it (:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 6: Lost

"Daddy! Onee-chan! It's time to wake up!" two shrill voices screeched, jumping around the bed excitedly, like a pair of jackrabbits. They scrambled over top of Naru and Mai, pulling on the blankets. "Wake up! Wake up!"

Mai groaned, cracking an eye open. She stared uncomprehendingly at the small Hello Kitty clock on the bedside table. The electric green numbers read 6:00 a.m. Mai groaned again, rolling over so she wouldn't have to face the time. "Thirty more minutes," she grumbled.

Her face landed against something warm and firm. Through the thin fabric of a night shirt she felt a strong heartbeat. She involuntarily inhaled. A dark and musky scent filled her nose. It almost smelt exactly like Dream Naru except different somehow. Strong, sinewy arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against a very familiar and male body.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. She found herself staring into the face of her boss. She went stalk still, but allowed herself to study his peaceful face.

"Nope! Time to wake up!" the twins shouted again.

At that moment Naru's eyes finally opened. Mai stared into them unflinchingly, something that rarely occurred. For a moment, they both forgot who they were and where they were. It was only the two of them for a few blissful seconds. That was until the world came crashing back as they were thrown to the floor by a well-placed jump from Kamin and Tamaki.

Mai let out a cry of pain as she fell on top of Naru. All the air left her lungs in a loud _whoosh!_ "Ah! Mother hell!" Mai cried, groaning in pain, "That hurt!" She jumped as a hand landed over her mouth.

"Do not repeat that," Naru told the twins in a serious tone though it came out as kind of a wheeze. He forced himself to sit up, Mai still pressed against his chest.

"Okay Daddy," they said in unison with bright smiles.

There was a quick, curt knock at the door.

"We're not here!" Mai hissed, sliding off of Naru and pushing her small frame easily under the bed.

"Come in!" Kamin called back, giving them a thumbs-up before flipping around to address their visitor.

The door swung open and two pairs of men's shoes clomped in. "Hey you guys," Monk called, grinning widely at the pair, "By any chance, have you seen Mai and Shibuya-san? We can't find them anywhere."

"Nope," Kamin shouted happily, bouncing up and down on the bed.

"We just woke up," Tamaki finished, bouncing right beside his sister.

Silence. "Did you see them last night? They were on night watch," Lin interjected. He watched them intently looking for signs of deceit. If they really were Naru's children then they'd most likely be masterminds at lying through their teeth.

And they were, yet he had no idea. The twins nodded their head. "They put us to bed last night and then went back to work," Kamin answered, giving the two men a bright, innocent, trustworthy smile.

Lin faltered. He wasn't all that great with kids. It was even a wonder he had been able to tolerate Naru. Granted, Naru hadn't exactly been a normal teen or kid, but he'd had his moments when he'd acted normal. Well, that was if normal meant raging temper tantrums ending in a lot of broken glass or major angst caused by roiling hormones and the presence of a certain brown-haired assistant.

Monk picked up immediately, grinning like the little kid he was. "Well, since it's early, do you want to help us go look for them? We're going to go look outside and having a pair of skilled guides like the two of you." Lin looked pained which only added to Monk's fun.

"Really?" they asked together, eyes growing bright with excitement.

"Of course!"

They scrambled from the bed, running into their closet the moment their feet hit the floor. They slid the door to the small space shut. Quiet scuffling and conspiratorial giggles came from the closet. Other than that, silence permeated the room once more.

"Where do you think those two lovebirds could have gone?" Monk asked, sitting down heavily on the bed.

Mai and Naru went stiff. Unconsciously, Naru shifted closer to Mai, though squeezing under the bed was impossible. Their eyes involuntarily locked and Mai's heartbeat picked up pace. She suddenly became painfully aware of their situation. If they were caught they'd never hear the end of it. Not in a million years.

"I don't know," Lin said truthfully, leaning against the door. He seemed to be more relaxed with the man around his own age. "But I'll bet they're in the same place and those twins have something to do with it."

"Yeah, those two seem to have taken a liking for Mai and Naru, especially Naru," Monk said and then there was a pause before his next question, "Do you really think Naru could be their father?"

"There's a very high possibility of that, I think, but just as an unlikely possibility. Naru wasn't exactly what you would call a normal teen. If I were to be honest, I'm not sure if he's ever kissed a member of the female persuasion before even with all the girls nipping at his heels," Lin said with a hint of humor in his tone.

Monk let out a guffaw of laughter. "You're right," he laughed, "He's probably never even kissed a girl on the cheek before, let alone had a real girlfriend."

Mai watched as Naru's features hardened. He did not enjoy people poking fun at him, not to mention by his friends and staff. He made to get up, but Mai shot out a hand and grabbed his wrist, anchoring him to the floorboards. She gave him an expression that just dared him to break her hold and blow their cover. It promised that he would not like the consequences. She'd be damned if she'd let him screw them over.

She was saved from having to make good on her threat by the reappearance of Kamin and Tamaki who bounded out of the closet fully dressed. "Come on! Let's go!" they cried, running to the open door. They stared expectantly at Lin and Monk who jumped to their feet.

Kamin led the way down the hallway, jabbering on about her friend the German Shepard who lived down the road. Tamaki paused at the door waving at the two hidden teammates before closing it and hurrying after his twin.

They waited a few long, silent moments before Naru popped up and pulled Mai out from under the bed. She dusted herself off and then looked quietly around the room, avoiding eye contact with Naru at all cost.

"We should get going. I'll leave first, then you leave and head for the bathroom or bedroom, just not Base," Naru instructed in that detached way of his. He strode towards the door, yanking it open. He paused in the doorway as Tamaki had done. "Oh, and Mai…"

"Yes?" she squeaked, snapping to attention.

"Tea as soon as possible." With that, he left without a backwards glance at her.

…..

Mai seethed with loud rage. She stormed back to her, Masako and Ayako's bedroom, muttering obscenities and insults directed at her boss under her breath. She burst through the bedroom door nearly knocking it off its hinges. Masako and Ayako startled, dropping the things they'd had in their hands at that moment.

"What a jerk!" she cried, slamming the door behind her, "Does he have a one-track mind for tea or something?" She didn't know why she was so mad at Naru, she just knew that she was, and she honestly didn't care for the why. "Urgh! He just makes me so mad!" She rifled through her bag, pulling out the first outfit her hands touched, a towel and her shower stuff. She stomped from the room once more, corralling herself in the bathroom before anyone could start asking questions.

Steam filled the bathroom and hot water poured over her. The heat seeped into her muscles helping them unclench. She felt all the tension from the past few days with the twins and Naru and Ash slip easily away down the drain with all thoughts. The sudden empty room left lots of other thoughts to slip through.

She idly wondered if the cut on Naru's palm had gotten any better. The memory of their little scandal in the kitchen came back full force and had her blushing and tense all over again. She took several deep breaths, clearing her mind once more, and allowing herself to relax.

"So, what was all the commotion about this morning?" Ayako asked the moment Mai walked back into their bedroom.

"What are you talking about?" Mai asked genuinely confused by the question.

"Not being able to find you or Naru this morning? You storming into our room, pissed in only the way Naru can piss you off?" Ayako asked incredulously, staring at her with raised, expectant eyebrows.

_Oh yeah, that._ She'd honestly completely forgotten about the whole thing and wished it had stayed that way. She shrugged in way of reply, moving to put her stuff away.

Ayako stood with her hands on her hips, a disapproving scowl curving down her red lips. "Oh no, don't give me that," she began to rant, but was cut off by a polite knock at the door. "What?" she snapped already glaring at the door.

John stuck his blonde head through the door looking a bit sheepish. He could be so innocent sometimes. "Ayako, Naru wants to see you," he simply said before ducking back into the hallway, escaping Ayako's piercing glare as quickly as he could.

A low growl escaped from between Ayako's teeth. She shot a glare at Mai, stabbing a finger at her. "This conversation isn't over yet, young lady," she warned before disappearing out the door.

"Yes, Mother," Mai cut sarcastically once she was gone, rolling her eyes in exasperation, "Geez, you would have thought I'd killed someone. That does sound rather tempting right at this moment though."

Masako watched her silently from her bed. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration as if she were trying to think of a good question. Finally, she asked, "Where were you last night and this morning?"

Mai faltered in her task, nearly dropping what she held in her hands. "N-nowhere. I was just in Base with Naru for night watch," she said confidently, forcing her voice and actions not to give her away.

Masako rolled her eyes. "You really think I'm going to believe that? Come on, we both know you're lying. For your information, I woke up around two in the morning and checked in at Base, but neither of you were there. Now spill it or I'll suspect the worst." A sly smile crossed her lips as she watched Mai fumble for an answer.

"I, uh, was, um, uh…" she stuttered, a deep blush crawling over her cheeks. She couldn't hold back. The truth spilled from her lips in a torrent of hurried sentences that only made Masako's grin widen.

**Sorry for the super late update. Some really scary stuff happened to my best friend at school and I just couldn't type up this essay. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter will definitely bring some ghosty stuff. Review please :D**


	7. Chapter 7: First Signs

**I'm just going to say this right now, sorry for all the typos. I think this chapter is going to have more than usual. Anyway, I'm thinking about writing another Legend of Korra fic so I might only put up an Ill Fate Reunion chapter this week. We'll see what happens :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 7: First Signs

Mai's face burned red with embarrassment. She sat cross-legged on her bed frowning and glaring daggers at the girl across from her who was currently laughing her head off. It was a wonder that she hadn't died of suffocation yet.

"It's not that funny," Mai muttered sullenly, clutching at her ankles.

"It is too!" Masako gasped, taking in lungs full of air to try and get her breathing back under control. She smiled and shook her head. "You two are so very dense. It's cute really." A dark blush covered her pale cheeks. She sat up, running her fingers through her hair to try and straighten it back out.

"How are we dense?" Mai asked, utterly confused. Her cheeks still flamed a surprising red, but her embarrassment was quickly being forgotten in the hopes that her friend would be able to help her.

Masako shot her an incredulous look. "You can't be that stupid can you?"

"I'm not stupid!" Mai defended indignantly, jumping to her feet.

"Yes you are. You just asked me how the two of you are dense. That's being stupid," she explained matter-of-factly, moving towards the door. Since they'd been at the house Masako had found her usual kimonos to be rather inconvenient. As such, she'd sniggered some of Mai's clothes which now hung a little loose on her smaller frame.

"Whatever, just answer the question already," Mai muttered under her breathe. She followed Masako to the door and out into the deserted hallway.

Masako glanced side-ways at her. "Well, for one, neither of you recognize or even realize the feelings you harbor towards each other, both either in yourselves or from the other."

Mai rolled her eyes. "Naru doesn't have feelings for me," she scoffed, "Not in this sense at least."

Masako gave her own eye-roll. "See, this is what I mean. Both of you deny that the other has feelings for you with one excuse or another. That's not cute. That's just plain infuriating. You two are just as bad as Monk and Ayako, if not worse."

"Says the girl who doesn't realize a certain someone having feelings for her," Mai quipped back, grinning evilly as Masako's face lit up like the Fourth of July.

"Nobody has romantic feelings for me," she said, sounding a little downtrodden though.

"Are you so sure? I always catch him watching you. He totally has the hots for you, and you know what they say about boys and hormones."

"Yes I'm sure."

"Denial!" Mai shouted enthusiastically, pointing a finger at her and dancing just out of her reach.

"You're one to be talking!" Masako shouted back and then sighed dramatically, placing a hand on her cheek, "Why does it always seem like we see everything when someone likes/loves someone else, but not when someone likes/loves us. It would make life so much easier if we just knew both right off the bat."

"But wouldn't that take all the fun out of the game called 'love'?" a very familiar male voice asked from so close behind them that his warm breath tickled the backs of their necks.

They both let out piercing screams, jumping away and around to face the newcomer simultaneously. They came face to face with a grinning Yasu. He had his hands shoved deep into his pockets. His eyes were nearly trained on Masako.

"Gosh dang it, Yasu! You scared the crap out of us!" Mai cried, glaring him down.

He just grinned that grin that said he knew he wouldn't be in trouble for long. His grin didn't disappear when he told Mai, "Naru's looking for you. He seems pretty pissed. Oh, and a package came for you. I think that's what set him off, and the fact that he hasn't had his tea fix today." His grin only seemed to grow more teasing.

"Oh no, I completely forgot about the tea!" she cried, cursing herself for having taken so much time to herself in the shower and talking to Masako for so long, "He's going to rip me a new one! Sorry guys, I gotta go!" She turned and sprinted for the stairs, skidding and stumbling down them. She jumped the last few steps, landing like a pro. She made it to the kitchen in record time. The tea took only a few minutes to make, and soon, she was back on her way to base.

She sighed with relief as she started back towards base. "Maybe I won't get such and ass-chewing if he has tea while he's at it," she murmured to herself as she walked.

"Mai!" a loud, high-pitched female voice cried excitedly from behind her, "I found you!"

Mai turned and grinned. Kamin ran down the hall towards her, her arms outstretched as if she were an airplane. Rex came charging after her acting as sentry and nurse-maid. "Hey Kamin, what are you up to?" Mai asked her as she approached.

"I'm being a plane, like Bou-san taught me," she told Mai without a moment's hesitation, grinning from ear to ear, "Earlier, we were playing and Bou-san lifted me up so high! I was flying like a bird, like a plane!" She made airplane noises and buzzed around Mai.

Mai grinned. "It sounds like you have a crush on Monk." Kamin only giggled. "Where's Tamaki?"

"He's with Daddy and everyone else. Daddy asked me to come look for you. He was awfully worried," she said slyly. She giggled girlishly again, grinning up at Mai.

Mai blushed a deep, pretty pink. She made a disgruntled face down at the little ball of energy causing her to burst into laughter. "You look funny with that face, Mai-chan!"

"Well, you're a funny looking fella too," Mai teased causing Kamin to giggle madly.

The temperature in the hall suddenly started to drop, and Kamin's laughter came to a halt. Rex growled low in her throat. She inched closer to Kamin, her hackles raised and her ears pinned flat against her skull, making her look lethal with her exposed teeth.

The freezing temperature didn't feel like the usual "ghost-cold". It held too much energy, too much power. It was unnatural, and she didn't like the feeling of it pressed against her exposed skin, but something about it felt vaguely familiar.

"K-Kamin, stay close to me," Mai whispered, baking slowly into a room with an open door. Kamin complied without question, moving in so close that she was pressed against Mai's leg. No sooner had she moved in that things started to go to hell.

Kamin let out a terrified scream as the window burst inward, spraying glass everywhere. Mai dropped the tray and crouched to cover Kamin without a second thought, letting out her own muffled shout.

Accompanying the window, several vases and the glass fronts to several china cabinets shattered. More glass and pieces of ceramics sprayed every which way. Water soaked into the carpet creating dark stains in the carpet. Half wilted flowers scattered across the floor.

"It's going to be alright. It's going to be fine," Mai chanted to Kamin even though she didn't believe it personally. Kamin sobbed into Mai's chest, clutching at her shirt.

The room shook violently. There was a flash of burning, pure white light and suddenly heat pressed against her, mixing with the freezing air, but not completely masking it. The heat seared against Mai's back and she somehow knew that there was a fire blazing somewhere in the room.

"Naru!" Mai screamed as loud as her lungs would allow. Rex followed her lead, letting out a deafening howl.

…..

Naru sat at base, seething quietly by the window with a file open in his lap. He was supposed to be reading it, but wasn't even attempting to pretend like he was. He stared over the orchards at the soft mist covering the treetops. Tamaki lay beside him in the floor flat on his stomach with a book open in front of him.

"Hey, Tamaki, want to play a game?" Ayako asked with a kind smile, crouching beside him on the floor.

Naru groaned inwardly. He did not want to listen to these idiots act like children with a child who acted older than them at times. To his surprise though, Tamaki shook his head without looking up from his book.

Ayako looked taken aback for a second before regaining her purchase. She smiled and asked, "You're really quiet without your sister around aren't you?"

Tamaki only shrugged his small shoulders. Naru smirked to himself, covering it with his hand. He glanced around to room, his eyes coming to rest on the package Suzuka had brought to him only minutes ago. It had Mai's name written on the outside of the small box in the same elegant script as the card from the roses.

His eyes darkened and his anger returned as he stared at the offending object. Who the hell even had the guts to send her something at any given time, let alone while she was on a case? It pissed him off to know that someone else could be trying and possibly succeeding in winning her affections. Something told him that this was no ordinary admirer. He'd seen her in her dazes. They weren't natural.

"_Once this case is over I'm going to find out what is really going on_," he silently promised to himself.

Just then Yasu traipsed through the door. He had an extremely red-face Masako beside him. Whether it was from anger or embarrassment, Naru couldn't tell and didn't care to find out.

Naru leveled a glare on the pair, staring daggers at them. "Where is she?" he snapped once they'd shut the door behind them.

Masako flinched, but Yasu just grinned. "Going to get your tea. I think she wanted to hold off on that lecture you're going to give her," he said in a nonchalant tone.

Naru growled under his breath, turning back to the window. Tamaki looked up at him and clambered up into his lap. Naru didn't try to stop him. That fact that it didn't bother him in the slightest told him that Mai was beginning to rub off on him.

Maybe that wasn't an entirely bad thing.

They all collapsed into a still silence. For several long moments, they stayed like that. A high-pitched scream split the silence accompanied by the shattering of glass. Tamaki's eyes grew wide. "Kamin!" he shouted, jumping from Naru's lap and bolting out the door.

Naru ran after him, his heart pounding with fear. He didn't know why he was suddenly afraid, but he knew it had something to do with a certain brunette assistant of his. That's when he heard her scream his name. "Naru!"

He was almost drowned out by the wolf-like howl that came after her scream. "Mai!" he shouted, chasing after the frantic Tamaki.

**There you go. I hope you liked this chapter :D My finals for school are coming up next week and then I'll be out of school *cheering* Well, please review ;D**

**P.S.~ All of you who read and review this or even just read are lovely. You all give me motivation! Thank you so much!**


	8. Chapter 8: Responsibilities

**I'm so sorry for my absence! I know I've been using this excuse a lot lately, but I did have finals and boat loads of homework. On Friday, I had to play for the graduation (seeing as I'm in orchestra) and yesterday I had a wedding to go to. Today, my mom just took forever getting us home. Honestly, this is the longest I've been on the comp in a while. Anyway, hope you enjoy this new chappy :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. If I did, I'm sure Mai would have more scars than she could count.**

Chapter 8: Responsibilities

Fire swirled from the open doorway, licking along the walls and ceiling leaving black streaks in its wake. From inside the room, sobbing echoed even over the crackle and pop of the scorching flames.

"Kamin!" Tamaki cried frantically, his eyes growing wide with fear. He ran for the fire, unconcerned about the damage he would receive.

"Tamaki, no," Naru said, grabbing a hold of the five-year-olds shoulders and shoving him behind him, "Stay here, I'll get them. Takigawa, Father Brown, Lin, get the fire extinguishers!" The three men nodded hurriedly, taking off down the hall.

"But Kamin's in trouble!" Tamaki screamed, struggling against Naru's strong grasp. He flung himself this way and that attempting to break his hold on his shoulders. Tears flooded his deep blue eyes, but didn't spill over the edge of his lashes.

Naru picked Tamaki up into his arms and ran him into another room. He set the boy quickly on a couch. He tore off his jacket and draped it around Tamaki's shoulders. He looked as if he were drowning in it. "Stay here, I'll get them. None of us want you to get hurt," Naru told him quickly before throwing himself out of the room.

The flames roared at him, inviting him into their searing embrace. Naru paid them no heed, running headlong into the red-orange mess, covering his face with his shirt. "Mai! Kamin!" he shouted, trying to not inhale the black smoke. He couldn't see anything through the thick cover that was burning his eyes.

Another wolf-like howl split the air.

Naru jumped. He rushed towards the sound, instantly seeing the huddled figures. He gasped at what he found. "Mai!"

Her shirt had been burned away leaving her back exposed to the raging fire. It was blistering and red, but not blackened. She was crouched over a sobbing Kamin who seemed unharmed. Beside them, Rex huddled low to the floor. Her tail smoked the slightest bit, but otherwise, she was unharmed.

"Tamaki! Daddy!" Kamin cried, her eyes squeezed shut and her face pressed into Mai's chest.

"I'm right here," Naru said as he picked her up and pressed her into his chest, "Can you stand?"

"I think so," Mai called, struggling to her feet with Naru's help. She stumbled against Naru, but stayed upright. They hurried from the room and didn't stop moving until they were in the other room with Tamaki.

Naru set Kamin down beside Tamaki. She collapsed into him, tightening her arms around his waist. Rex jumped up beside them and started licking both of their faces like a mother duckling. Naru turned his attention to Mai who had curled up in front of the couch, trembling in pain. Tears slipped silently from the corners of her eyes.

"Miss Matsuzaki!" Naru yelled, crouching beside Mai, "Ayako! Someone get Ayako!" His voice was borderline hysterical as he stared down at the girl in front of him, incapable of helping her.

"Naru, what's the- Oh my god. Ayako! Ayako, get your medical bag!" Masako screamed, her eyes going wide and the color draining from her already pale face. She ran back down the hallway towards the stairs.

Naru breathed a short-lived sigh of relief. Outside, he could hear the others fighting to get control of the fire. As far as he could tell, it was being reduced, but was still burning strong.

Tamaki who had calmed Kamin down enough to where she was only hiccupping, clambered down from the sofa followed by her and scuttled over to them. "I-is Mai going to be okay Daddy?" Kamin asked, her eyes wide with fear and horror.

Naru looked up at them. He nodded slowly, saying, "Yes. She's very strong. She can make it through anything."

"Are you mad at me?" Kamin suddenly asked, staring at him pleadingly.

Naru was confused which very nearly never happened. "No. Why would I be mad at you?" he asked, keeping his face carefully neutral even though he had a raging storm of emotions roiling through him.

Kamin looked on the verge of tears again. "Because it's my fault Mai is hurt and you're really worried about her," she told him.

Naru was opening his mouth to tell her it wasn't her fault, but Mai beat him to it. She extended her trembling hand towards the young girl and cupped her cheek. "It's not your fault," she gasped out, wiping away tears that had begun to stream down her face while her other hand had a painful grip on the carpet.

"But it is all my fault!" Kamin objected, miserably scrubbing at her eyes with her fists, "I wasn't with Tamaki like I was supposed to be. It's all my fault." Another sob erupted from her as she dissolved back into crying.

Mai was getting ready to contradict her, but her face contorted in pain. She clenched her eyes and mouth shut, refusing to let voice to her agony.

"Ayako!" Naru shouted, not looking away from Mai, "Get in here now!"

Ayako sped through the door, her medical bag clutched to her chest. A gasp escaped her lips as she rushed to Mai's side, dropping down beside her and ripping her bag open. "What happened to her?" she screamed, pulled her tools from her bag quickly.

"What the hell do you think happened?" he snapped back angrily, glaring over at her. Surely she wasn't **that **stupid? His eyes found the twins watching the proceeding, and told them, "Don't repeat that."

"Yes Daddy," they spoke in unison, clutching at each other's hands for support. He didn't even try to deny it this time. Mai really **was** rubbing off on him.

Ayako shot him a scathing glare, but forced herself not to snap back at him. She knew that he was just extremely worried about Mai. She wasn't going to fault him for that. At least he was finally showing how much he really cared for her.

She took a deep breath and got to work. She started to cut away the remains of Mai's shirt and bra, peeling them carefully way from her skin leaving her back and sides exposed. She stared at the wound with a mixture of horror and astonishment. "This isn't a normal wound," she muttered to herself, making a mental note to inform Naru of the detail later before returning to her task.

Mai clutched at Naru's fingers, squeezing the life out of them. She kept her eyes closed tightly shut as if that would help shut out some of the pain. For the most part it did, but there was still a lot she felt.

Naru felt his heart clench. He found himself wanting to squeeze her hand back, and stroke her face, and tell her everything was going to be fine. He wanted to find a way to make her forget about the pain. It would be so very easy to give into his desires…

His eyes went wide as he realized where his mind had travelled. That and his eyes themselves. He jumped to his feet, ready to take Tamaki and Kamin to another room and have a very long talk with his mind and hormones, but Mai yanked him back to the floor. For a girl in extreme pain, she was very strong.

"Don't leave me," she whispered, staring up at him with tear filled chocolate brown eyes.

He felt himself breaking under her gaze. "Of course not," he whispered, making his decision then and there, "I'll never leave you." Even if this backfired on him in the end, he refused to regret the choice. He'd see it through to the end.

Ayako glanced sideways at him wondering if he realized the promise he'd just made to this girl. It spoke volumes about the depth of his feelings. _He probably doesn't realize either_, she decided silently.

…..

"So what are we supposed to do now? That was the first activity since we got here," Monk asked, leaning against the wall. They were all at base battered and bruised, smoky and burned.

Ayako stood in front of him, putting salve on a small burn that marred his face. Half of one of his eyebrows had been singed off and now Yasu couldn't stop giggling. He sat in a corner, tending to his own burns.

Naru leaned back in his chair, pushing a sleeve down in discomfort though it did little seeing as parts of his shirt had been burned away. The same was true for his pants. He captured his chin in his hand as he looked out the window. "There's not much we can do. Review the tapes, though I don't believe we put a camera in that room. Possibly try an exorcism…" his voice trailed off, talking more to himself than the team.

They fell into silence, even Yasu, considering any possibilities. Each in turn glanced at the sleeping twins on the window seat closest to Naru. Naru was the only one who didn't look towards them. Either he wasn't acknowledging the possibility of their involvement or didn't want to bring it to light.

Finally, Lin being the brave soul of the group, spoke up. "We could try something with the twins. We could separate them and see if anything happens," he suggested.

"Yes. We could do that and figure out if the room is the place of origin, if Mai or Kamin are being targeted, or if it was just a coincidence they were there at the time," Masako interjected, attempting to make it sound less harsh than it had coming from Lin.

Naru let his eyes drop to the twins in front of him. They really did look a lot like him. Like him and like Gene. They had their personalities, and he suspected they had abilities. It would be good to conduct an experiment. Something felt wrong about using them as lab rats though.

"_Why am I hesitating? I never hesitate even when it comes to children_," he thought to himself.

And yet, he still hesitated before answering. "I think that would be beneficial to the case. Tomorrow, we'll figure out how to go about this. For now, go take showers and get some sleep," he said, standing up.

Everyone followed suite, getting to their feet and stretching. Groans emanated from every member in the room. They were all sore and stiff. Maybe they'd just fall asleep in the bath. Yeah, that seemed like a great idea.

Naru turned to the twins and bent down. He pulled each of them into one of his arms and stood back up. "I'll put these two to bed," he elaborated before leaving the room.

The others stared after him in surprise. It was silent for a long moment before Yasu broke it. "Aaaaawwww," he crooned, sticking his head out the door to watch him walk down the hallway, "When did he grow a pair of ovaries?"

"You need sleep," Monk sighed, rubbing his eyes before looking back up at everyone, "But really, when did Naru finally accept that he might be their dad, and that job all together?"

"I don't know," the rest, except for Lin, answered together, shrugging. They all started filtering out the door. Monk sighed and shrugged as well, following them out of base.

**Alright, there you go. I hope you enjoyed it. Since it's summer, I should be more consistent with my chapters from now on. If I'm not, I give all of you permission to hang me. Just make sure the rope is soft :D Review please and I'll love you forever!**

**P.S.~ I'm really grateful to all of you who review my stories. You give me the drive to go on. I love you all so very much. I'm not even kidding (:**


	9. Chapter 9: The Cat's Out of the Bag

**Wow, this was a pretty long chapter. Sorry for all the italics in this chapter, I didn't realize that I'd made her dream so long. Enjoy the new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 9: The Cat's Out of the Bag

Kamin stirred as Naru carried the twins down the hallway. She tightened her arms around his neck, squirming in his grasp. Rex trotted beside him, the end of her tail wrapped in thick white gauze, ever their protector. "Daddy, can we go see Mai-chan?" she murmured in his ear.

Naru glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Only if you promise to be quiet and calm. Mai is hurt very badly and needs to rest," he said, dumbing it down for them even though he normally wouldn't, even for children.

"Promise," the twins murmured together. Obviously Tamaki had been awake the entire time. Surprisingly, Naru didn't mind. He hoisted them higher onto his chest and struggled to open a door to his left. They'd all decided that it'd be better for Mai to sleep in a separate room that way she wouldn't be woken by either Masako or Ayako.

Mai slept peacefully on the bed, her back to the door. The bandages wrapped around her torso and middle peaked out from the bottom and collar of her shirt. She breathed evenly, but shallowly.

Naru set the twins next to the bed. Kamin opened her mouth to squeal something, but he quickly stopped her. "Remember what I said," he whispered. She instantly closed her mouth and nodded. They scurried around to the other side of the bed, scrambling onto a chair and then the bed.

As if sensing their presence, Mai carefully rolled onto her back, making room for them on either of her sides. Tamaki slowly stepped over her, making sure not to jostle or fall on her. The twins cuddled into her sides under the blanket. They closed their eyes, sighing in relief. Not soon after, the breathing evened out and deepened.

Naru sighed. He sat down heavily in the chair beside Mai's bed, watching her carefully. She looked so peaceful. He wondered what she was dreaming about or if she was even dreaming at all. With the morphine she was on, he highly doubted she even could dream. Of course, his brother would find a way around that if he really needed to.

His brother…

Naru sighed heavily again, glancing at the healing cut on his palm. An ugly black scab sealed it, and suddenly began to itch. He made a face and closed his fingers into a tight fist, digging his nails into the flesh around the scab. It did nothing to alleviate the itching. He rubbed his palm hard against his pants hoping to dull the itching a little, but there was nothing that could dull healing.

He turned his eyes away from his aggravating hand to survey the room. Besides the bed, nightstand, and chairs the room was pretty much bare. Sheer white curtains that didn't even block out the moonlight hung at the sides of the large window. A small painting of a woman hung beside the door overlooking the room. She had strawberry blonde hair that hung in front of her mint green eyes. A bright smile brightened her wan face. Years before the painting had been done, she would have been extraordinarily beautiful. On the nightstand, Mai's ruined clothes had been set for some unknown reason. The edge of something peaked out from between the folds of her skirt.

Feeling a little awkward about searching her clothes, but deciding that it didn't matter whether he did or not as long as he put the item back later, Naru wriggled the object from the clothing. It was a picture, a picture he'd seen many time, a picture he hadn't seen in years. It was a picture of Gene and him when they were younger. How in the name of all that was holy had Mai gotten ahold of that picture? It was impossible. He'd never shared the picture with anyone before, but that didn't mean his brother hadn't.

Anger flared up within him. Because of his brother's complete lack of ability to withhold information his whole plan to keep his identity and other things a secret was in jeopardy. Mai wasn't an idiot, she would have figured out by now that he wasn't exactly who he said he was.

Gene's words came back to him, and his anger deflated. It had seemed like centuries ago that he'd told him them. "_Here's an idea, why don't you just tell her everything?_" he'd suggested.

At the time Naru had brushed the words off as a stupid remark from his idiot twin, but now he wasn't so sure it was so idiotic. Would it be smarter to just up and tell her? She'd be pissed, there was no doubt about that, but it'd be better than her finding out some other way, right? This would be so much easier to work out if he could talk to his brother. He may have been a genius, but he really sucked at anything concerning people. His brother, on the other hand, was always the one who was better at dealing with others, especially others of the female persuasion.

Sighing once more, Naru set the picture down on the nightstand. He stood and stared down at the twins and Mai. If he didn't know better, he would have believed them to be a mother and her children. With the way she handled them, she could well have been.

On a whim, he reached down, taking one of her hands in his. He pressed his lips softly to her forehead, whispering, "I have a lot to confess in the morning." He lingered there for a moment before pulling back to his chair. Still clutching her hand, he let his head fall forward onto his arms and his eyes slide closed.

…..

_Mai felt the darkness pressing in on her eyelids like a wet cloth. The floor under her felt of nothing. There was no texture, nor warmth or cold. It was neutral. Energy pulsed around her, sliding over her skin like water._

_Prying her eyes open, Mai stared around. Yep, just as she'd thought. She was in the dream realm. That meant she had something to see, and that Dream Naru wasn't far behind. She could finally question him. If he wasn't a figment of her powers, he'd have some of the answers she sought._

_No sooner had she though that, Dream Naru was there above her, offering her his hand. She smiled, reaching up a hand. The motion stretched the burns across her back. She retracted her hand to clutch at her throbbing back, a moan of pain escaping her throat even through her clenched teeth._

"_Mai, what's the matter?" Dream Naru uncharacteristically cried, instantly dropping down beside her, "Are you hurt?" His hands lifted the hem of her shirt a little bit, finding the gauze wrappings underneath. "What happened to you?" he asked worriedly, gingerly helping her into a sitting position._

"_Oh, you know, randomly igniting fires and such," she groaned out sarcastically, clutching at Dream Naru's hand for support, "I have something important to ask you."_

"_Alright, but I have something to show you first," he said, helping Mai to her feet with gentle hands. He was so different from the real Naru. He even smelled different. Why hadn't she noticed all the differences before?_

_The answer was because she simply hadn't wanted to._

_Dream Naru took a deep, steadying breath like he was preparing himself for anything, and turned towards the scene that was materializing in front of them. A woman with strawberry blonde hair lay in a bed. Her green eyes had a dull tone to them. She stared off into space, her mouth slightly agape, her breath labored._

"_Honey, look what I have," a man with dark brown hair came in. Mai gasped. She knew the man! It was Suzuka! He had a gentle smile and papers held in his hand._

"_What's that?" the woman asked, her breath wheezing out with every exhale. She turned her head towards Suzuka, holding out a shaky hand that he instantly took in his._

_Suzuka's smile spread farther across his face. "The adoption papers for Kamin and Tamaki. They finally gave them to me. I'm going to sign them and turn them in this afternoon," he said happily, but softly, moving to sit beside his wife._

_The woman's face lit up. Some color and brightness returned to her face and eyes. "That's great! We can finally be parents. When can they come home?" she asked excitedly, struggling to sit up and looked expectantly at Suzuka._

"_I was told that they can come home a week after I turn in the papers. So a week from today we'll be parents."_

"_That's great! That's great. I can't wait," the woman wheezed, grinning widely. She looked younger than she had only moments ago. The sickness that was raging through her body had sucked years from her youth. "I love you honey, and I'm going to love these children just as much," she told him, pressing a hand to his face._

"_I love you too," he whispered, leaning forward to press his lips to hers._

_The scene faded into grey along with its occupants. Its occupants slowly faded into oblivion. Rain now drummed against the window. Greyish light spilled through the window. Suzuka crouched beside the bed, his shoulders heaving._

"_Why? Why did you have to leave Hana? Why did you leave me? Why did you leave us? You didn't even get to meet them," he sobbed into the comforter, clutching the soft white fabric tightly in his fingers, "I miss you. I miss you so very much." The scene faded completely away into the blackness of the dream world._

_Mai stared on uncomprehendingly. "How is __**that **__supposed to help us solve the case? What does it mean?" she asked, turning her gaze on Dream Naru._

_He smiled down at her. "I'm sure it can help you. I don't have the answers and can't give them to you. I'm only here to guide you. You'll have to ask the other me for help." He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing reassuringly._

_Mai remember the other reason why she'd wanted to come to the dream world. She jerked out of his grasp, glaring at him even through the pain that lanced through her at the sudden movement._

"_You. You're not who you say you are, are you?" Mai asked, staring him down, "I know. I've seen the pictures of the two of you. So don't try to lie to me. There's also Kamin and Tamaki."_

_The smile dropped from Dream Naru's face. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I was hoping he'd tell you before we got to this point. As always, he's a little slow on the uptake," he murmured more to himself than her._

"_So… so you're admitting it. You really are Naru's brother? You're twins," she said, the last part more of a statement than a question. She didn't need to ask him to know the answer. "Why didn't either of you ever tell me?" Tears stung the back of her eyes, but she refused to cry._

_The man who's she'd thought to be Naru sighed, closing his eyes in resignation. "He didn't want anyone to know. He'd searching for… for me, and he figured that the less people that knew, the easier it'd be for him to leave when he completed his task, but even now, even if he never told you, I doubt it'll be that easy." By the end, he was talking more to himself than to Mai._

_She raised an eyebrow at him, the tears receding as curiosity took the place of hurt. "What do you mean he's looking for you and by the less that we knew? Has he even been using his real name this whole time?" She felt anger boiling up within her once more. Had he been lying to them all these years? After all they'd been through together, he'd never told them the truth! She dug her nails into her arm in an attempt to calm herself._

"_I… I died here in Japan several years ago. Naru found that out. He came searching for my body, and has been searching for it ever since," he told her, "As for the name thing…" He trailed off, an awkward silence falling around them._

_That was all the answer Mai needed. "He has been lying to us! This entire time we didn't even know his real name!" she cried, clenching her fists at her sides, "He's been lying to us this whole time! What about the twins? Has he been lying to us about them too? Who the hell are you guys?"_

"_No! I swear to God that he hasn't been lying about the twins! We have no idea who they are! We only have theories!" he cried, eyes growing wide with shock. He grabbed Mai's shoulders, trying so hard to make her understand and believe. "That's so much more important. We'd never lie about something like that. You know Noll better than that!"_

"_Apparently I don't," Mai muttered, disheartened. She looked away from him, staring at the ground. She forced more tears back down her throat, hating that she felt like crying for a man who had been lying to her for years._

"_I'm so sorry, Mai. I wanted him to tell you, but he was adamant about staying quiet," he told her, wrapping her in a tight hug, "Talk to him, just talk to him. Let him explain. Please. It'll relieve him, and you, of a heavy burden."_

"_Always acting the big brother, aren't you?" Mai asked bitterly, "You've been protecting him the entire time haven't you? Were you ever really here to help me?"_

"_Yes," he said simply._

"_For which one?"_

"_Both."_

_Mai looked up at the former Dream Naru with narrowed eyes. She sighed deeply. Why couldn't she stay mad at him? "What's your name?" she finally asked, looking back up at him. If she was going to confront Naru, she might as well at least know his twin's name before continuing._

_The man smiled happily as if he knew that she wasn't mad anymore. "Eugene Davis," he said, pressing his lips to her forehead, "Thank you." The darkness quickly closed in around her._

…..

Mai opened her eyes slowly to muted moonlight. Two warm masses were curled up in her sides and more warmth gripped one of her hands. It comforted and soothed her. She lay uncomfortably stiff for a moment before moving, pushing herself slowly into a sitting position.

She looked around her. The room looked exactly the same as it had in her dream except for a few absent people and a few added things and people. Her destroyed clothes lay on the nightstand, the picture that had been in her pocket lying on the top of them. Tamaki and Kamin had been curled into her sides, the two warm masses she'd felt, clutching at her shirt. Naru was in the chair Suzuka had been sitting in, his hand wrapped tightly around hers. It was as if he was using her to anchor herself to the world.

Mai squeezed his hand back. "Naru, you're a dirty liar," she whispered to him quietly, tears finally allowed to spring forth from her eyes, "So why is it that I still love you?" Leaning forward, she bravely pressed her lips to his, answering her own question, "I don't know."

**There you go! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It actually made me think of a complete plot change that I wasn't planning on adding. Perhaps it'll add more to the story, hopefully. Anyway, review please! :D**


	10. Chapter 10: Fools

**Sorry for the late chapter, I don't really have an excuse this time around besides having major feels about Legend of Korra crowding out all my other stories, haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter (:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 10: Fools

The moment Naru woke up he almost had a heart attack. Mai, Kamin, and Tamaki were absent from the bed they'd been occupying only a couple hours before. The blanket had been pulled from the bed and draped over her shoulders.

"Dammit Mai," he growled under his breath, jumping to his feet. He shrugged the blanket on his shoulders off. "Why can't you just stay in one place?" He glanced towards Mai's ruined clothing still resting on the nightstand. The photo of Gene and him was missing. In its place was a folded piece of paper. Naru picked it up slowly, unfolding it.

Only four simple words were written on the crisp white surface. Simple, but deadly. "_We need to talk._"

He stared at the words, unable to formulate a coherent thought. Finally, he thought something. "Well, at least that saves me one problem," he thought solemnly, not actually meaning the words that flowed through his mind. He placed the note back where he'd found it, and left the room.

"Finally up, Sleeping Beauty?" Monk asked as he entered base.

Naru shot an icy glare at him before turning to Lin. "Where's Mai?" he asked, walking to look over Lin's shoulder at the tapes he was reviewing, "Anything significant happen last night?"

Lin glanced over his shoulder at his charge. "Not anything threatening. There was a slight temperature drop in the twin's room around 11:30, and later in the room Mai was in around 3:00 in the morning." He failed to mention that he'd seen his charge sleeping at her bedside with the twins.

"Interesting," he said uninterestedly, shifting his eyes towards the windows, "Where did Mai run off to?" He had a feeling that if he looked down at the backyard he'd find Mai doing something she shouldn't be doing.

"She's outside playing tag with the twins," John supplied, looking up from his chess game with Yasu.

Naru rolled his eyes. Of course she would be playing a game. "So why, in the condition that she is in, did you allow her to go outside and run around?" he asked sarcastically, his eyes piercing Ayako.

She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, but spoke confidently. "She's healing extremely fast. Much much faster than she usually does. This morning her back was completely scabbed over and already growing new skin in places. She'll be fine running around a little. It's good for her," she explained, flicking over one of John's knights.

"Is that so?" Naru wondered under his breath, moving to stare out the window. He found Mai being chased by the twins and the German Shepard. The look on her face was pure joy without even a hint of pain. How could she have been so much stronger than him?

Mai was tackled to the ground. She rolled onto her back, laughter on her lips. A breeze rustled the grass and treetops around her. Their eyes met as she opened them to stare at the sky. Her smiled didn't disappear. If anything, it grew wider. She tugged on the twins and pointed up at him.

Their eyes grew wide, and they jerked their heads toward him. The three yelled something up at him, waving vigorously. It looked as if they had yelled the words "_We love you!_" at him.

He smirked, waving back.

"Those two have grown quite fond of you, don't you think?" Masako asked, stepping up beside him. She held a hand over her mouth for lack of having a sleeve, and stared down at the twins and Mai.

"Seems so," Naru said, moving his eyes toward the sky. Black smudges crawled slowly from the horizon.

"What are you going to do about them? Are you… going to find out who their real parents are?" she asked hesitantly, looking at him from under her long lashes.

He didn't answer. He was too busy watching as Tamaki and Kamin braided small flowers into Mai's short hair. Rex lay beside Mai, content with just being pet. "_How could someone just up and abandon those children?_" he thought, "_More importantly, why do they look so much like Gene and me?_" The pair was a complete bafflement to him.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. He swung around to face the team. "Yasu, I need you to do some research on a woman named Christina Willows. She'd British. Find any information you can, but focus on finding out if she has any living heirs," he ordered immediately, staring him down, "Upon doing research on the house."

"Why do you need research on this Christina woman? Is she relevant to the case?" Monk asked, turning his chair to watch him with suspicion in his eyes.

Lin turned around as well. He'd had the pleasure of meeting Christina before Gene had gone to Japan. The cogs were already turning in his mind for why Naru would ask for research on her. Immediately, several theories were presented. Every one of them was equally plausible.

"Possibly," Naru said cryptically, averting his eyes from his overly vigilant assistant.

"Now, about what we were discussing last night…" Yasu said casually, overtaking one of John's pawns with his lone knight.

"Yes. How are we supposed to separate the twins? They're glued to each other's side 24/7," Monk picked up, dropping his chin thoughtfully into his open palm, staring at Naru like he hadn't believed what he'd said earlier.

"We ask one of them to help the ladies with something and for the other to help the men," Naru said without a second's though. During the time they'd been there Mai had somehow forced him to learn their habits and personalities. It helped that he already knew two people like the twins. "At the same time in different areas. Monk, Yasu, and John will take Tamaki to do something outside, and Mai, Miss Matsuzaki, and Miss Hara will do something with Kamin inside of the house while Lin and I stay here to monitor." He plopped down in a chair nonchalantly, tenting his fingers before his mouth.

The team, except Lin, stared with wide eyes at him. "Since when did you become the child psychologist?" Monk asked stupidly.

Naru sighed. "Never. I just pay attention and listen which you seem incapable of doing," he jabbed, moving his eyes back toward the window.

"Hey! I'm not incapable of those things! I do them all the time!" Monk shouted indignantly, glaring at him.

"Uh huh," Naru muttered without interest, his mind and eyes focused on the happenings outside. Behind him, Yasu and Monk were muttering conspiratorially. He could have cared less about what they were planning if both his and Mai's names hadn't been included in the plotting.

He spun towards them, ready to call them out, when the door flew open. The group jumped as one, staring at the man standing in the doorway. Suzuka walked in, a smile curving his lips. "Hello, I was just passing by to see how things are going," he said.

"Slow," Yasu, Ayako, and Monk said together glumly, dropping their heads into their hands. All of them, including Suzuka, Naru and Lin, gave a collective sigh.

"Oh," he said nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Well then, since you're all working so hard maybe you should take a break. There is a lake not far from here. We could all go there tomorrow." He shrugged his shoulders as if saying it didn't matter either way.

Monk, John, Yasu, and Ayako turned puppy-dog eyes on Naru. He groaned inwardly. "Fine, tomorrow, but we must complete today's work. Now excuses!" he said, narrowing his eyes at the group.

"Great! I'll go make the reservations!" Suzuka called even as he was walking out the door, waving back at them.

Once his footsteps had disappeared, the four burst into action. Masako sitting next to him looked over at him. "Is that such a good idea?" she asked.

"Does it matter?" he asked, answering her question with a question. He looked back down at the three below and answered his own question, "_No, it doesn't_."

…..

"You're going to do **what**?" Mai screeched angrily a couple hours later. Ealier, Suzuka had taken the twins to help him with something. Upon arriving at base, she'd been informed of their plan for the twins. She was pissed. No, she was worse than pissed. She was livid. Her rage boiled deep within her gut, fighting for purchase with her rationality. So far, her rage had won hands down, bubbling and overflowing within her.

"How can you do that? They're five-year-old children, Naru! How can you experiment on them like a pair of disposable lab rats?" she yelled, throwing her arms out in protest.

"Believe me Mai, I don't like doing experiments on the twins as much as you don't," Naru admitted sternly, his eyes flashing with contained anger, "But we can't ignore the fact that they may be closer to this case than we originally thought."

"She never even got to meet them! She died they week they came to live here!" she cried in exasperation, "Why would she be haunting two children with such anger and viciousness if she'd never met them? What reason does she have?"

That stopped everyone short. Naru narrowed her eyes at Mai. "What are you talking about?" he asked icily, suspecting that Mai had once again neglected to mention a dream she'd had. Now his own anger was rising little by little, growing at the prospect of clashing with her anger.

How in the world could he be in love with a girl that he always fought with? His twin was foolish to think he had any romantic feelings towards her.

Mai's eyes grew wide. She hadn't meant to say that. She pressed a hand to her mouth, but mentally shrugged deciding that if it stopped this then it was worth it. She slowly removed her hand. "Suzuka's wife. She died of a sickness before the twins came to live here. Days before. She never got to meet them. Why would she be haunting them?" Mai explained, staring at Naru pleadingly.

He was quiet for a few moments, thinking. He had his chin captured in his hand, staring at the floor. He turned quickly to Ayako and Masako saying, "Go get the twins. We need to hurry up with this experiment." The two women startled and nodded, scurrying from the room.

"You're going ahead with it?" Mai cried, staring at him in disbelief. She couldn't believe, after all she'd told him, that he hadn't reconsidered what they were about to do. What if one of the twins got seriously injured? What if someone died this time?

"Yes," he said without explanation, turning to a book he had open in his hands.

She ground her teeth audibly. "I refuse to help you and the rest experiment with the twins," she growled at him, turning and stalking out of the room before anyone could stop her. She marched down the hall, turning into the room she'd been in the night before.

She was oblivious to the fact that she was being closely watched by Naru and Lin on the monitors in base as she stomped across the room. She sat heavily in the window seat, glaring out at the brewing storm.

Raging wind tossed the trees to and fro. Lightning flashed far off in the distance casting shadows across her face and throughout the room. The rain hadn't begun to fall, but it wasn't far behind. From where she sat she could see Mon, John, and Yasu leaving the house. Attached to John's hand was one small Tamaki, a blue rain jacket clutched around him.

"How could you do this? It's about to start storming, and you're sending a child, maybe your child, out with two idiots and a priest," Mai muttered to no one, her eyes tightening in annoyance, "Naru, you fool. You damn fool." With a sigh, one removed the picture from her pocket and stared at it longingly, wishing she'd known the two boys in the picture.

She dropped her hands into her lap. Closing her eyes, she let her head fall back against the wall. All was quiet in the room. Downstairs she could hear Ayako and Masako having a lively conversation with Kamin. There was the clanking of dishes, cups and silverware. The sound of running water immediately followed. Outside, there was only the howling of the wind.

At first, Mai didn't feel the dropping of the temperature around her. Her chest slowly tightened from the freezing air and her fingertips went numb.

She opened her eyes, frowning at the area around her. Besides her breath clouding before her, there were no indicators to show that a ghost was in the room with her. She stood slowly, cautious of her surroundings. Fear coiled deep in her chest crowding out the oxygen in her lungs. "H-hello? Is anyone here?" she stuttered.

For a second, she thought no one was going to answer until she heard a woman's voice. "Yes."

**There you go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. So I have finally initiated my new angle on this story. We'll see how it goes. The season finale of Legend of Korra is on Saturday so I doubt I'll get any writing done that day, but I'm going to try and get the new chapter of Ill Fate Reunion up tomorrow or Friday. Look forward to a new Legend of Korra story coming out soon. Btw, if my stories start ending really not happily it's because I'm starting to explore a new writing style where not everything is happy and unicorns and rainbows. Anyway, review please :D**


	11. Chapter 11: Water Wars and Agreements

**Hey guys! Has it been awhile or is it just me? Maybe its because I'm only working on one story right now. Anyway, I had my second driving lesson today. I was so excited! Haha, so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 11: Water Wars and Agreements

Mai jumped, spinning towards the origin of the voice. A woman with long strawberry hair that hung around her form and large green eyes stood beside the bed. She ran her pale see-through fingers over the fabric of the quilt, not looking at Mai. "Yes, I'm here," she repeated in a soft voice.

Mai's words stuck in the back of her throat. She struggled to form a coherent sentence. "Why…?" she asked, trailing off because she didn't exactly know what she had been going to ask.

"Why what?" the woman asked her, lifting her eyes to watch Mai with a neutral expression.

"Why are you haunting Tamaki and Kamin?" Mai whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as she forced the question from her lips.

The woman shook her head gently as she sat on the bed, still running her fingers across the fabric. "I'm not haunting the twins. I'd never do that to them. They are precious to me. I only wish to protect them," she said, her eyes roaming around the room absentmindedly.

Mai started. "W-well, if you're not the one haunting them, then who is?" she asked, taking a small step closer to the woman. She pressed the picture of Naru and Gene hard to her chest trying to draw strength and courage from it.

Again, the woman shook her head, her hair softly brushing against her cheeks. "There is nothing haunting those two young kids except their past and heritage."

"What do you mean there's nothing haunting them? What about all the strange things that happen? What about the fire and breaking glass?" At the mention of the fire a sharp pain lanced through her back. She bit back the groan that crawled up her throat. "If nothing is haunting the twins, then is something haunting Suzuka? Are… are you haunting Suzuka?"

The woman smiled sadly at the mention of her husband. "No, nothing is haunting Suzuka and neither am I. I am only here to ensure the twins are safe. The problem lies with the twins themselves. They are the ones causing the paranormal phenomenon."

Mai chewed on this new piece of information, chewing of the inside of her cheek. Pushing it away for later inspection, she let something else the woman had said settle in her mind. "What did you mean by 'they're haunted by their past and heritage'? Do their parents have something to do with the activity around them?"

A nod was her answer.

"So, do you know who their parents are?" Mai asked tentatively.

The woman shook her head. She got to her feet, roaming the small room. "No, I do not know who their parents are, but that boy does," she said, stopping to stare at the picture of herself. A heavy sigh left her chest.

"Boy? Who do you mean?" Mai asked, confusion crowding out any annoyance or anger that had lingered after the spirit's arrival.

The woman looked over at her. She walked over to where Mai stood and somehow pulled Mai's hand away from her chest to reveal the picture. She cradled Mai's hand in her gentle yet icy palm, and pointed to the boy being leaned on.

"Naru? He knows who their parents are?" Mai asked incredulously.

"Yes." The woman smiled at her before removing her hands. "Sorry for making you so cold."

"I'm not cold," Mai began to retort before realizing that her hands felt like they're been encased in blocks of ice. Goose bumps ran up and down her arms and legs. Somewhere along the line, she'd begun to shiver violently. The woman motioned towards the quilt with a smile. Mai smiled back sheepishly, pulling the quilt from the bed and pulling her around her shoulders. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said, moving to stand beside Mai. She stared out the window, watching the rain pour down and the lightning flash in the distance. It was still far enough away that the thunder couldn't be heard.

"Will you… will you help me with something?" Mai finally mustered up the courage to ask. When the woman nodded, she continued. "Would you please go out there and keep Tamaki safe? I'll go down to the kitchen and watch over Kamin."

"Of course," she said and flitted out the closed window just as three scream emanated from the kitchen.

…..

Ayako and Masako walked into base followed closely by two munchkins. "Hey, where'd Mai go?" Ayako immediately asked after entering. She glared over at Naru as she sat down. "Did you do something to piss her off again?" She was spitting fire already even though she'd just gotten back. Kamin giggled behind Masako's legs.

He shrugged, staring intently at the monitors. He was blocking a certain one, the one to the bedroom they'd slept in that night, with his body making it impossible to see. Not getting answers out of him, Ayako turned her glare on Monk, Yasu, and John who were decked out in rubber boots and raincoats.

They shrunk away from her glare. They hurried over to Tamaki saying, "Hey Tamaki, can you help us with something outside for a moment? We need to get some stuff from the orchard for the lake." They all smiled encouragingly at the boy who nodded in agreement.

As he was dressing down, Masako turned to Kamin. "Kamin, can you help Ayako and me do the dishes please? We could really use your help," she told her, smiling.

"Okay!" Kamin said enthusiastically, grinning widely.

"Hold it!" Ayako called as the boys started out the door. They froze in their tracks, turning slowly back towards her. "Where. Is. Mai?" She asked slowly, enunciating every syllable.

"After you and Masako left, she stormed out. We don't know where she is now. Probably in your guy's bedroom," John explained before hustling out of base with the other three. They hurried down the hall and stairs, and out into the light sprinkle that had just started up.

Ayako watched them scurry away disdainfully. "Do you always have to pull at Mai's nerves?" she yelled at Naru in annoyance. She didn't stay to hear his answer. Instead, she motioned for Masako and Kamin to follow her. They headed for the kitchen, quiet as they walked through the door.

"Why's Mai-chan mad?" Kamin suddenly asked as she hopped onto the stool beside the sink. She picked up a dish towel and waited patiently for Masako or Ayako to hand her a dish.

"I don't know, Kamin," Ayako said with a heavy sigh, "Your dad just seems to do a phenomenal job of pushing her buttons. I think he secretly enjoys it when she yells at him." By now she was talking more to Masako than Kamin.

"Daddy likes Mai-chan a whole lot. She also likes Daddy a whole lot," Kamin said matter-of-factly, drying a bowl Masako passed to her.

The two women exchanged raised eyebrows. "So Kamin, how did you figure that out?" Ayako asked casually, keeping her eyes focused on the cup she was currently washing.

"When we all sleep together, and Daddy thinks we're all asleep, he'll stay up to watch Mai-chan and stroke her hair. They hold hands when they're sleeping too, and Daddy gets really worried about Mai-chan. He's always watching her too," Kamin explained happily, setting the bowl to the side and picking up the cup Ayako had just handed her.

Masako and Ayako watched her with wide, shocked eyes. They certainly hadn't expected **that **to come out of her mouth. They'd expected her to be vigilant, but not so vigilant it was almost up to par with the great narcissist himself.

"He also says her name a lot when he's dreaming," she added as an afterthought before looking at the two women and smiling mischievously, "I know who likes you too."

"What? Who?" they cried together, staring at the little girl hopefully.

"Bou-san likes Ayako-san, and Yasu-san like Masako-chan," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, smiling at the women's stunned expression.

"No he doesn't!" they cried together.

"Uh huh!" Kamin shouted back, pulling herself to her full three feet something inches, standing her ground.

"What do you know? You're five!" Ayako sputtered, standing in front of the girl with her hands on her hips.

"More than you!" Kamin countered, splashing water at her.

"Hey!" Ayako cried, splashing water back and hitting Masako full in the face instead. She now looked like a drowned mouse causing Ayako to burst into laughter and Kamin to giggle uncontrollably.

Masako was stunned for a moment. With deliberate slowness, she wiped the water out of her face and pushed her wet hair back. She glared menacingly at Ayako, her eyes shining with revenge. "I'm going to get you back for that," she whispered ominously before shooting her hand out and grabbing the spray nozzle. She pulled it from its place and shot water at Ayako who let out an indignant shriek.

"Why you little…!" she cried just as Kamin threw more water in her face, "I'm going to kill both of you!" She took bowls of water from the sink and tossed them at Masako and Kamin who let out twin screams of surprise.

Their water war continued for several minutes. By the end, the kitchen itself was soaking wet. All three girls were drenched, dripping water on the already overly wet floor. They were finally getting back to what they were supposed to be doing. They were just finishing up when they heard the clanking and cracking. They went still.

That's when the window shattered. Shards flew towards them. They all dropped to the floor letting out screams of fear.

…..

Mai ran from the room, the quilt forgotten on the floor, and instantly crashed into Naru. "What's happening?" she asked, all her anger at him forgotten. He kept his hand on her wrist, pulling her towards the kitchen as they ran.

"I don't know," he answered over his shoulder.

They reached the kitchen in a matter of seconds. Lin threw the door open revealing the three cowering females by the sink on the other side of the kitchen. Glass shards littered the floor and flew through the air. Water, knives, bowls and cups accompanied the shards, swirling through the air, and coming dangerously close to the three girls.

"Mai, stay here," Naru ordered, pushing her back as she made to run into the mess, "Lin, go fetch the others. Now!"

Lin nodded and sprinted out the front door into the downpour. Mai stood by anxiously as Naru bobbed and weaved around flying glass and other things, occasionally knocking something off-course with a smack of his sleeve-covered arm. Standing over the three females, he pulled Kamin into his chest and helped the other two to their feet, knocking a piece of glass out of the way that was headed straight for Masako.

They ran from the room. Mai slammed the door shut, a knife lodging itself in it just as it clicked shut. About three inches of the blade stuck through the door. They breathed heavily, sprawling on the floor. Kamin lay on Naru's chest, soaking him as well.

The men burst through the door. "What happened?" Monk cried, running to help Ayako sit up. He checked her over for injuries. He only found a shallow cut on her cheek and arm.

Yasu hurried to help Masako up, and Tamaki rushed to Kamin. He pulled her into a tight hug, not caring that she was soaking wet. John ran to get the medical kit. Mai scooted over to Naru, helping him sit up and then checking him for injuries. Out of the four, he'd fared the worst.

He had cut all up and down his legs. A cut marred his pale cheek and parallel cuts ran across the side of his neck. All of the cuts were shallow, but bleeding profusely.

Monk cleared his throat, turning pink as he noticed the way Ayako's clothes clung tightly to her body, and how her shirt had nearly gone see-through. "Why are you, uh, all wet?" he asked sheepishly, handing her his jacket and looking the other way.

Ayako and Masako exchanged glances. "Uh… water war?" Masako said, her statement coming out as more of a question.

"And you guys **didn't **invite me? How unfair," Yasu pouted, sticking out his bottom lip. Monk and the rest just looked lost.

"We'll explain after we take showers and clean our wounds," Ayako said, pressing Monk's jacket to her front. She ran a hand down her face before getting to her feet. She uncharacteristically hauled Masako to hers.

…..

Several hours later, they all sat in base. They were all in their comfiest clothes which ranged from sweats to pajamas so loose pants. Mai sat with Naru, the twins leaning heavily on the two of them. Masako and Ayako had just finished recounting what had happened in the kitchen. Silence filled the space.

It was broken by Naru's next question. "Takigawa, Father Brown, Yasu, anything significant happen?" He looked at the three males who were seated on the floor in front of the coffee table.

They shook their heads.

"I believe we may be dealing with two spirits," he said, though he hardly believed it himself. There was too much evidence going against such a conclusion, but he was reluctant to divulge what he truly thought because that would mean actually having to admit that he thought the twins were related to him. The team would immediately jump to the conclusion that they were his children. He was not ready to face that, and having to explain who he truly was.

Mai and Masako broke in at the same time. "No, there's only one spirit," they said in unison.

**Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This story should be over in the next couple chapters. Then it's onto the short three chapters (I think) story I have planned. Review please! :D**

**P.S. ~I think I'm repealing what I said about going on a hiatus. I have no idea where to start on rewriting that other story so I'm just going to put it off. It's not like I'm going to do anything with it anytime soon *shrugs***


	12. Chapter 12: Promises Meant to Keep

**I just realized that the ghost's name would Hana Hanagawa in full… Wow, I am a dork. Ah well! No use in fretting over it now! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter because the next is the last. This story will be at its end *sobbing* we had a good run.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 12: Promises Meant to Keep

The two women looked at each other. Masako waved her hand, motioning Mai to continue and explain. Mai took in a deep breath. "There is only one ghost. I know that because I was speaking with her beforehand," she started, looking at nowhere in particular.

"That doesn't account for what happened to Masako, Ayako and Kamin," Yasu pointed out.

"You didn't let me finish," Mai said irritably, shooting an annoyed glare at him, "She told me that there is nothing haunting this house. She may be here, but she's not causing the activity. She says it's the twins themselves."

"What? What do you mean by that?" Monk asked, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion. Naru and Masako glanced at her sharply.

Heat flushed Mai's cheeks. She glanced down at her hands as she shrugged and murmured, "I don't know exactly." She flicked her eyes to Naru who had his chin in his hand. His eyebrows were pulled together not in concentration, but more in worry. It was like he was trying to decide something.

She hadn't exactly lied to them. She had an idea of what it meant, and had a feeling in her chest that she was more than correct. She didn't want to out Naru though. She wanted him to tell them on his own without any pushing. She wanted him to tell **her** on his own, not through a second source like Gene and the ghost, but from his own lips.

"Naru, what does the ghost mean?" Yasu asked, staring at him intently. The wheels in his head where spinning at full speed, already formulating an answer.

Naru shook his head in a dismissive gesture. He turned his glare on Yasu. "Do you have the information I asked you to gather?" he snapped, his voice as abrasive as usual.

Yasu looked perplexed. "Uh, yeah, sure. Its right here," he said, getting up and walking over to the table with the monitors. "There's something I have to tell you about the woman though. She's-" He didn't get to finish saying what he was saying because Naru snatched the stack of papers from his hands and left the room. Outside there was a boom of thunder.

"…dead," Yasu finished quietly as the door slammed shut.

Uncomfortable silence filled the room. The only sound was the rain pouring on the roof like a bucket of bolts and the booming thunder. For once, Lin had ceased his constant typing in favor of a book. Outside the window, lightning flashed across the sky.

Finally, Yasu and Monk couldn't take it anymore. "Hey Mai, we forgot to tell you," Monk began, jumping to his feet with Yasu right beside him.

"Someone sent you something!" Yasu finished, snatching up the box that had been ignored for the past day and a half.

"What? Someone sent me something?" Mai asked in bewilderment, taking the small box offered to her. It was light. Emerald green material covered the outside of the box. A golden ribbon wrapped around the middle of it. "I wonder what it could be."

Carefully, she pulled the bow off, letting it drop to the table. The team crowded around her to catch a glimpse of the gift. Mai stared down at the box for a moment before pulling the lid open. An audible gasp ran through the team.

In the box was a small silver bracelet. One single charm hung from the chain. A crystalline ball colored with green and brown sparkled up at her. On the inside of the lid was a small note. "_Think of only me, pretty flower_," the note read.

As Mai read the note and ran her fingers along the charm, her mind when blank and her vision filled with only the picture of Ash. Her face fell slack, her eyes going flat.

"Hey, is something wrong with Mai?" Ayako asked first, noticing her complete stillness.

John who was closest to her put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey Mai, what's the matter?" he asked, shaking her shoulder gently.

She didn't respond. Beside her, Kamin and Tamaki stirred. Kamin opened her eyes slowly, staring at the bracelet. She blinked a few times trying to clear her vision of sleep. She stared fixedly at the bracelet for a long moment. A high-pitched scream of terror surged up from her mouth. She scuttled backwards, bumping into Tamaki and nearly knocking him off the couch. "Keep it away from me!" she wailed, flinging herself from the couch and into Lin's arms who was staring wide-eyed at the gift.

A crack of thunder range through the house, rattling it. Outside, lightning flashed. The lights and monitors flickered before plunging the team into complete darkness with only the constant flash of lightning as their light.

The force of Kami's screams and the sudden blackness snapped Mai back to herself. She dropped the box back to the table, ignoring it as it bounced to the floor. Its lid slammed shut of its own accord as the door flew open.

"Kamin!" Mai cried accompanied by Naru's voice. They rushed to her, following her screams. "What's the matter?" They reached Lin in the same moment. Naru's breath came in quick gasps as if he'd taken the stairs three at a time and run as fast as he could to reach the child.

"What happened?" Naru panted, glaring between Mai and Lin. He reached for the little girl, pulling her from Lin's arms and into his chest, cradling her there.

Tamaki pulled on Naru's pants leg. "I think it was Mai-chan's gift, Daddy. It scares me," he said calmly, showing none of the fear he felt. He pointed in the general direction of the table where the box had fallen.

"What was it?" he asked, looking at Mai through the gloom as he bent to hoist Tamaki up as well.

Fear crawled through Mai's veins like a poison. Her eyes were wide and her lips pinched were tight, her body visibly shuddering. Something about this latest gift had her not only fearing for herself, but for Naru and the twins as well even though nothing had really happened. "I-it was a bracelet with a crystal ball charm that had brown and green in it," she stammered, clenching her fists tightly against her sides.

"Someone bring it to me," Naru ordered, passing Kamin over to Mai and setting Tamaki down as he did.

John came out of the gloom, holding out the small green box. "Here it is, Naru." Kamin cringed in Mai's arms, whimpering.

Naru picked the box up with careful fingers. The familiar shock of energy skittered up his arm leaving it numb. He frowned, pulling the lid open. Instantly, he involuntarily dropped it to the floor and took a step away from it. He instinctively pulled Mai, Kamin, and Tamaki behind him further from the object on the floor.

"What's the matter with it?" Monk asked, stepping closer so that he could see what was going on. He took in the new scene before him with a frown. "Lin? Naru-bou?"

"I can't be sure of what it is," Lin said, gingerly picking up the box and placing it on the topmost row of monitors, "But it's nothing good, that's for sure. Mai, do you know who sent this to you? They may mean to harm you."

Mai hesitated. For a moment, she considered telling them the truth, but her doubts soon clouded her thoughts. Things like "What if he's not the one who did it?" and "What if he need help?" stopped her from telling them the truth. "No, I'm not sure who it is," she murmured, avoiding eye contact.

The team gave a collective sigh. "Well, I guess we can't do much of nothing now that the lights are out. I vote that we all go take a nice long sleep," Monk said, scratching the back of his head. The others started moving towards the door.

"Not so fast," Naru said, holding Kamin once more. The group stopped dead in their tracks, turning slowly to hear their fate. "Monk, Yasu, go check the circuit breaker. See if you can get the power back on. Ayako, John, put Tamaki and Kamin to bed. Masako, how do you feel about doing a séance and trying to cleanse the spirit?"

"I think, with Mai here, it just might work. I'd be happy to do it," she said thoughtfully, moving her eyes to watch as Mai fretted silently.

Monk and Yasu groaned loudly. They shuffled from the room, dragging their feet to postpone the inevitable. Naru passed a now hiccupping Kamin to John. "Come on, Tamaki, let's get you ready for bed," Ayako said, holding out her hand to him. He took it, and they left the room. Each group of people grabbed a flashlight from the coffee table as they left.

"I will go prepare my things. Will we be holding the séance in this room?" Masako asked as she headed for the door.

"No, the room where Mai slept last night," Naru decided, turning to watch the lightning flash across the sky beyond the windows.

Masako nodded, grabbed a flashlight, and left the room. "Wait! I'll come with you!" Mai called, fleeing Naru's presence before he could begin asking questions.

…..

"I'm ready to begin," Masako said. They sat around a table they'd dragged in from another room. Masako sat at the head, closest to the bed, a flickering candle before her. Her hands were on top of the table, beads wrapped around her wrists.

"Alright," Naru said with a nod. She pressed her hands together in front of her face, and closed her eyes.

Silence filled the room. Even the storm outside seemed to have quieted to watch the medium at work. She pulled in a deep breath and suddenly the air in the room changed. It seemed to hold a charge. Her face and posture relaxed.

Mai watched her in slight awe. She had seen Masako perform a séance five or six times before, but it still amazed her every time. She felt her heartbeat slow with the intake of her breath as the silence stretched on.

Suddenly, Masako inhaled sharply. A serene smile settled on her lips. Slowly, she opened her eyes not to Masako's usual black eyes, but to pretty green orbs. Her eyes moved around the table, coming to rest on Mai and Naru sitting side by side. "Hello Mai, boy that the twins claim to be their father," she said in a very calm voice.

"Are we right to believe that you are Hana, Hanagawa-san's wife?" Naru asked immediately, taking no time for pleasantries.

Masako, or rather Hana, nodded.

"Why have you kept yourself from moving on? Why are you lingering in this realm?" Naru asked in that straight-forward way of his. He watched her carefully for her reaction.

She kept smiling, unfazed by his questions. "To protect Kamin and Tamaki. That is the sole reason I have stayed. I want to make sure they are where they should be." Her smile grew knowing as they continued staring each other down.

He was silent for a long moment, just staring back at her. He had a feeling that she already knew that he knew everything now, and that she knew what he was planning. "You… you have no need to worry for them any longer," he finally said, facing her with determined eyes.

"And why is that?" she asked idly.

For spirit's sake she was going to make him say it so that there were witnesses! He could feel Mai and Lin watching closely for his answer. Had he suddenly become the main character in a drama movie in the last hour or something?

Naru gritted his teeth, but told the truth. "I have discovered who their biological parentage is. As such, if Hanagawa-san allows me, I will take full responsibility of them, and do the right thing. If he refuses, I will still make sure that they know who their parents were and what they were like. I will not leave them in the dark," he said with confidence, but not his usual condescending confidence.

Hana's smile grew wider. She rested her elbows on the table, tenting her fingers in front of her mouth to hide her smile. "I do not believe he will refuse, but you will promise me. You will promise me that you will provide them with a home, protection, and the love and education they require. You will promise me that you will never leave them, never abandon them, and never raise your hand to them in anger." She watched him intently, her expression growing strangely and dangerously serious.

"Noll…" Lin began, but Naru cut him off.

"I do. I promise to provide everything for them. I promise to never leave nor abandon them nor hurt them in anger," he answered just as seriously, refusing to look away from Hana.

"How do I know I can trust you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him as if she were scrutinizing and judging the worth his soul.

"Naru never breaks a promise!" Mai piped up, immediately jumping to his defense without a second thought. That had Naru peeling his stare away from Hana to look at Mai.

Hana smiled, finally dropping her hands. "I trust Mai's judgment. Thank you to both of you. I believe I am satisfied. I swear though, if you ever break that promise I will come back to haunt you and make your life a living hell," she said too sweetly not to take her threat seriously.

She was closing her eyes, Masako's eye color fading back to her usual black when they snapped back open. "Oh, and one more thing, you and you," she said, pointing to Mai and Naru, "You two need to get your act together. And you…" She pointed exclusively at Naru. "Do not leave those two children without a mother. There is a perfectly suited woman for the task so close and precious to you that I don't think you even realize how close and precious she really is to you. Don't let her slip away from you." She smiled warmly and let her eyes slip closed.

Masako exhaled deeply, slumping forward onto the table. The candle was extinguished. The temperature rose a few degrees the three hadn't realized they'd lost. Lin groped around in the darkness until he found the flashlight. He flicked it on and shone it around the room.

"She didn't put up a fight at all," Mai murmured, staring around room.

"I wouldn't say that," Lin said, moving around the small space gathering the camera and other things they'd set up around the room. He pulled out another candle and lit it, setting it on the tables.

"What do you mean?"

"She had an intense staring contest with Naru."

Mai laughed. "That's true," she said, "So, what do we do now?" She looked over at Naru who was leaning back on his hands and staring at the curtained window.

"We find out if the others have given up yet or not, start breaking down base, and then we go find Hanagawa-san," he said matter-of-factly, getting to his feet. He left the room without grabbing anything in almost a nervous fashion. Naru **never **got nervous. He wasn't even any fun to play the Nervous Game with.

Lin easily picked Masako up, putting his laptop under his elbow. Mai grabbed the camera and stand. They left for base in complete silence, not even glancing the other's way. Finally, Mai gave up trying to understand what had happened. She jerked her arms up in frustration. "What do you think Naru has to talk to Suzuka-san about?" she asked.

"I don't know, but it definitely has to do with the twins," he half lied. He knew exactly what Naru had to talk to Suzuka about. He didn't exactly know what to think about the fact that Mai hadn't figured it out yet.

She chewed on her bottom lip, debating her next question. "Do you know what the ghost meant by her advice for Naru?" she asked, looking up at Lin.

He looked down at her. He sighed. "Yes," he said, pulling the door to base open before she could ask what it meant.

**There you go, hope you enjoyed it. I know this ending wasn't as eventful as any of my other stories, but I actually hadn't meant to have a ghost in this story at all. I hope it wasn't too boring though. Next chapter is the last chapter/epilogue for this story. Look forward to the sequel when I get around to it ^w^ Review please :D**


	13. Chapter 13: Secrets and Confessions

**I hope you enjoy the last chapter. It's really long so I hope it sates all of you until the sequel. I'll see you all again soon :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

Chapter 13: Secrets and Confessions

Mai yawned, stretching her arms above her head. The skin across her back stretched, but presented no pain as it had the day before. Ayako had informed her that she'd be completely healed by morning. As far as she could tell, she was.

She rubbed sleep out of her eyes, looking around at the room she was in. Somehow, she had ended up in the twins' room one more, sharing a bed with them and a certain narcissist who she had been cuddled up to just moments before. She looked from Naru to her other side where Kamin was clinging gently to her shirt. Tamaki was on Naru's other side. They'd all switched positions someway, somehow in the middle of the night.

Climbing carefully over Kamin, Mai slid to thjer floor and padded over to the window. Soft, grey predawn light filtered through the slit in the curtains making everything look darker than it really was. She pushed the part open a little wider to watch as the sun rose.

Sometime in the night the storm had moved on leaving everything drenched and sopping wet. Trees glistened with droplets of water that hung on the precipice of leaved and branches.

Rex padded over, sitting and leaning heavily on Mai. She smiled, looking down at the albino German Shepard, and scratched between her ears. Rex gave her a dog smile and leaned into Mai's hand.

A pale hand appeared beside Mai's almost making her jump, petting Rex's neck. She felt him behind her before she heard him. Heat radiated off of him like he was a human furnace, seeping through her clothed and into her bones.

"Another case down," Naru murmured more to himself than to her, pressing his chest almost flat against her back as he stared over her head out the window.

"Well, it's not completely over," Mai said, looking down at her feet as her face began to heat and everything come rushing back. Her dream with Eugene Davis, and Hana's words ran through her head once more. Instead of feeling anger at Naru, she only felt disappointment.

He didn't say anything. His hand unconsciously slid up to hers, grasping her fingers.

Mai squeezed back. For some reason this didn't feel as odd as it should have. Maybe she was still dreaming? She asked her questions anyways, needing to ask him even if he was just a dream. "Nar", who are you really? What did Hana mean in her advice last night? How are the twins the cause of the activity, and what do you plan to do with them?" she asked quickly, fighting the urge to turn around and make sure he was real.

"I will explain everything to you later at the lake. For now, enjoy the silence," he said quietly, pressing just a little bit closer as if he were the one who needed reassuring of reality.

…..

"Naru-bou, I hope you brought shorts –though I know you didn't- because you will be swimming with us today," Monk shouted excitedly in the now ex-Base. He lounged in a chair in a pair of khaki shorts and T-shirt. John and Yasu sat across the table from each other playing a card game.

"If you don't, you can borrow a pair of mine," John offered, glancing towards him.

Naru ignored them both, opting to focus on the book in his hand instead. Tamaki who sat on his lap wearing a pair of Batman swimming trunks and T-shirt read slowly. He leaned back against Naru's chest, soaking up his warmth. "Daddy, are you going to go swimming with Kamin, Mai-chan and me?" he asked, not looking up from the book like Naru always did.

"Maybe," Naru consented, flipping the page.

"Hey, where are the girls? Haven't they been gone long enough? I thought they finished making lunch a long time ago," Monk said, groaning in boredom as he leaned his head back against the armrest.

"Suzuka-san took them into town to buy swimsuits or something. You have to realize, Monk, that shopping, especially for swim ware, is very extensive and exacting. Things like this cannot be rushed for women," Yasu explained condescendingly, slapping a card face down on the table.

Monk raised an eyebrow at him. "And how exactly do you know so much about females and shopping?" he asked, the implication clear in his voice.

Yasu grinned, brushing it aside. "Four half-sisters that visit for summer vacation and a long line of ex-girlfriends."

Monk scoffed. "Yeah right, like you've ever had a girlfriend. You probably don't even know what it's like to have one."

"I'll have you know that I have made plenty of women extremely happy, and not just in the platonic sense either, if you know what I mean. Unlike you who's celibate," Yasu retorted, wiggling his eyebrows at the speechless monk.

Monk's face began to visibly head. "I am not celibate you…!" he began to yell, but Naru cut him off with a loud clearing of his throat.

The three men looked up at him. He glared at the two main culprits as he said, "If you are going to start being vulgar, whether obviously or not, than I suggest you go find something to do outside of this room. Such as checking to make sure all the equipment is in the van and everyone's luggage in the car."

"Sure thing," Monk and John said, jumping to their feet with Yasu right behind them.

Monk and Yasu threw themselves out the door, summersaulting to a stop and pretending they were in a spy movie. "Daddy Naru strikes again!" Yasu shoulder over his shoulder as he went through the door. Sighing, John waved with a smile before shutting the door.

Naru sighed, leaning back in his chair. "They're worse than children." Lin chuckled into the book he held.

…..

"What about this one?" Ayako asked holding up a black bikini with hot pink diagonal stripes.

Masako and Mai glanced up from their searching. "I think it's nice," Mai piped up, glancing back down with a disgusted expression at the metallic gold bathing suit that had just crossed her path. She couldn't find a single one she liked! They were all very revealing bikinis in ridiculous colors and with the stupidest patters. Earlier, she'd found one that had a turtle stamped across the front of the bottom like a pair of elementary school girl's underwear.

"You should go try that one on," Masako prompted, pulling out a frilly light orange and white one with a flower pattern, giving it an appraising look.

"Okay. I think you should give that one a try. It's cute," she said, hurrying away to the changing rooms.

A little over an hour ago, Suzuka had left them to their own devises saying he had some business to take care of and that he'd be back to collect them in two hours. So far, their two hour search hadn't gone so well. Mai was beginning to worry.

Masako cleared her throat a little nervously, keeping her eyes away from Mai. "Mai, what exactly happened last night during the séance? I never got to find out because you were a bit out of it, and Naru was flustered. Then after he returned from talking to Hanagawa-san, he kind of avoided you, Lin and me like the plague," she said, trying for nonchalance, but not exactly succeeding.

"I don't really know how to explain it," Mai answered truthfully, pulling out a navy blue bikini with a black butterfly pattern. Now this, she could probably do. "Hana moved on very peacefully, but had a staring contest with Naru." She grinned and giggled a little at the memory.

Masako raised an eyebrow at her, pulling the orange and white swimsuit over her arm. "Really? Just like that? She didn't put up any kind of fuss?" she asked. _Well, that's quite unusual_, she thought to herself.

They turned to the changing rooms, choosing open stalls adjacent to each other. The only other person there was in the room was Ayako so they had no fear of being overheard by anyone.

"Well, I wouldn't say that. She did make him promise a bunch of stuff and had a rather in depth, cryptic, or maybe not so cryptic, talk with him. I really didn't understand what they were talking about. All I know is that it was concerning the twins. Then there's the advice she gave to him," Mai said thoughtfully, peeling off her shorts and shirt, pulling the bathing suit over her bra and underwear. Surprisingly, it wasn't half bad.

All of the sounds from the other two women ceased. "What kind of advice?" Ayako prompted having caught the gist of their conversation.

"Well," Mai said hesitantly, still looking herself over in the mirror, "She told him not to leave the twins without a mother and that there was a suitable female so close to him that he didn't even realize it. Who do you think she meant?" She dropped her eyes to the carpet wondering who in the world the spirit had meant.

Ayako and Masako snatched her door open almost immediately, staring wide-eyed at her. "You really don't understand who or what she meant?" they asked incredulously.

The way they were staring at her caused a spark in her mind. Looking for a subject change, she gestured to the two women and what they were wearing. "I think you two should get those ones. I'll get this one. The boys are probably crawling up the walls by now," she said, pulling the door shut, a deep blush of embarrassment and realization coloring her cheeks.

…..

"Finally here!" Monk shouted, tumbling from his car closely followed by Yasu, "Why did you guys have to take so long? We could have been here two hours ago." He stood back as Suzuka pulled up beside his car. He went around to the trunk and waited for Suzuka to open it.

"Don't blame us! There was nearly nothing worth considering!" Ayako spat, swinging her legs out of the car and narrowly being missed by the van's door as Naru popped it open. "Hey! Watch it!"

"You're just a shrewd old lady," Monk scoffed, pulling two chairs over his shoulders and grabbing the handle of the ice chest. John hurried to grab the other side. "You probably just couldn't decide because you can't make decision on anything, and nothing would cover up your wrinkles."

"Oh really now?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. She strode toward him, but instead of biffing him across the head like she usually did, she whispered something in his ear. His face flared a blinding shade of red that spread to his ears and down the back of his neck. He dropped his head into his palm, trying unsuccessfully to hide his embarrassment.

"Ooooo, why are you blushing so hard, Monk?" Mai crooned with a mischievous grin, "Are you two not telling us something? Please tell me you're using protection, and that Ayako won't turn up pregnant." She pulled a bag stuffed full of towels and other such things from Suzuka's trunk, but Naru immediately took it from her hands. She shot an annoyed glare at him.

Monk's neck turned an even darker shade of red causing Mai, Masako, Yasu, and Ayako to laugh. "Hey! You're one to talk young lady!" he shot back, snapping his head up to glare pointedly at Mai.

Mai looked at him indignantly, placing her hands on her hips, and glaring. "I'll have you know that I am still a beautiful, majestic unicorn. No one is majestic enough to ride me," she spouted off proudly. The others stared at her wide-eyes and slack-jawed before bursting into laughter. Even Suzuka joined in.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Naru whispered in her ear as he brushed past her, setting the bag he held by the van, while the others were busy rolling around on the ground. Mai's cheeks lit up enough to rival Monk's blush.

"Mai-chan, am I a pretty unicorn too?" Kamin asked excitedly, her eyes shining brightly.

"Of course you are, and so is Masako," Mai said with a wry smile.

"Yay!" Kamin screamed, jumping up and down.

"I'm a dragon," Tamaki interjected on Mai's other side, "RAWR!"

Mai let out a mock scream. "Ah! You're so scary! Oh please, someone save me!" she shouted dramatically, pretending to be faint. She pressed a hand to her chest, and the back of her other hand to her forehead.

Kamin shoved Mai into Naru's arms out of her line of sight. He caught her around the waist, watching the twin's in amusement. "Go Knight-san! Save Mai-chan and hide her! I will fight the dragon," she said just as dramatically as she picked up a stick. The other started chanting, laughing and grinning.

"Looks like I'm supposed to save you," Naru said, smirking down at her. Without any warning, he swept her legs out from under her and into his arms. She let out a yelp of surprise, pressing close to his chest. "I now have the princess, and will hide her from the ferocious dragon," he announced loudly causing Tamaki to rawr again and the rest to cheer. Lin shot him a stern look that he brushed off as he turned and moved into the woods.

"You're actually hiding me?" Mai asked incredulously, grinning up at Naru. She never thought that he could actually play. They were on one of the side trails in the woods, heading away from the place Suzuka had chosen by the lake.

Naru glanced down at her. "We need to talk. It was the best way to get away from the others without causing too much suspicion," he explained, staring ahead into the trees.

"Oh," Mai said, a little miffed. Somewhere in the distance she could hear a waterfall. The sound soothed her slightly. Mai sighed in resignation, relaxing into Naru's arms. She might as well enjoy their close proximity while she had it because she'd probably never get to again.

Naru walked for a long time carrying Mai. It wasn't until they reached the distant waterfalls that he finally set her down on a stump. "They won't overhear us out here," he explained when she opened her mouth. He took to pacing back and forth in front of her, running his fingers through his hair.

Mai was quiet a moment, just watching him pace. She decided to address the easiest of her questions. "Her were the twins causing the activity at Suzuka's home?" she asked first.

Naru stopped pacing and turned to face her. "The twins are like my twin and I. It's not exactly that they're both causing it, more like Kamin is. As far as I can tell, Tamaki has more ESP than anything, just like my twin. Kamin on the other hand has PK, and quite a lot of it. She causes poltergists like I did before I learned to suppress it from Lin," he explained, watching me, "Tamaki right now is like her mediator. Without him, there's an overflow of energy, just like with my twin and me."

"You know you can say his name," Mai whispered, staring at her hands.

"What?"

"His name. You can say it. I know Eugene. He's been… guiding me through my dreams." Guilt at not telling him sooner clawed at her inside, but she just pushed them away, trying not to get emotional.

Naru went quiet. "I know. I guessed as much. Gene, he hinted at it sometimes," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. Now he was starting to look guilty. "Look, I know you're going to be pissed when I tell you, but just hear me out. My name isn't really Shibuya Kazuya, it's Oliver Davis. Gene came here to do an exorcism without me or anyone else. I came looking for his body, deciding that the less people who knew my identity, the easier it'd be to search," he explained a little jerkily, staring off at the falls.

Mai nodded, not as angry as she thought she'd be. Maybe it was that he was actually telling her or maybe it was because she had already suspected. She carefully filed the information away in her 'Important' drawer and moved on to her next question. "Who are Kamin's and Tamaki's birth parents? Are… are you their father?" Though she already knew the answer would be no she had to ask.

Naru actually laughed. He shook his head. "No, I'm their uncle. Gene is their father and a girl he dated for a year back in England is their mother. Her name was Christina Willows. She's dead now. I am their only blood relative now." His voice dropped and octave and his eyes dropped to the dirt. He mourned her.

That seemed to soften Mai just the slightest bit. "How did she die?" she asked in a soft voice, watching him with imploring eyes.

"She was in a car crash the day after she arrived in Japan and put the twins into the orphanage," he said, grasping his elbows tightly as if trying to ward off a memory. His eyes darkened with something that could have been related to anger.

"Are you going to adopt them?"

"Yes." He began pacing back and forth once more, worry creasing the place between his eyebrows.

"Is that what Suzuka-san was doing in town today? Is that why he took us into town in the first place?"

"Yes."

"Is Lin going to teach Kamin how to control her power?"

"Yes."

Mai breathed a sigh of relief. She stared at her folded hands, listening to the falls. Naru made no move to interrupt her thoughts, allowing her and himself time to think. She blushed slightly as the next question spilled from her mouth without warning, surprising even her. "What did Hana mean last night by what she told you?" She already had an idea, and hoped it was true, but wanted to hear him tell her like so many other things.

Naru stilled in his pacing, glancing towards her. His expression was unreadable, blank, but his eyes were slightly incredulous. He turned his eyes away quickly, continuing his pacing. Was he going to tell her or try to avoid the question? She had a feeling he was going to tell her, but was just trying to think of a way to do it.

She took the time to study him. She took in everything. The way he moved. The way his muscles flowed under his pale skin. The way his hair flopped across his forehead. The way he bit his thumb. He only did that when he was very unsure of something so obviously the action only happened every once in a blue moon.

Once again, she was struck by how very different he and his twin actually were. The only thing they shared was their appearances and some of their facial expressions. How in the world had she ever thought them to be the same person? It was baffling yet not at the same time.

Mai let out an exasperated sigh, throwing her hands up in the air. "Geez," she growled at herself, staring sullenly at a tree, "Why did it take so long for me to realize they're completely different? Why did it take this case, no, those two kids, to make me realize? Good lord, I'm a dunce." She dropped her chin into her hands, turning her head to stare at the waterfall so she didn't have to watch her crush deliberate how to reject her. Suddenly, her sullen mood turned down right depressing.

"Mai," Naru said very close to her.

Sighing, she swung her head around. She'd been ready to face his rejection, not to literally come face to face with him, her nose only inches from his. His eyes were intense and his breathe was warm.

"Y-yes?" she stuttered, trying to regain control of both her erratic breathing and racing pulse. Exactly, what **was **he doing this close to her?

"Hana's 'advice'. It's exactly what it seems. I can't leave the twins without a mother figure, and there is a woman very close to me, literally and figuratively, who is precious to me and perfect for the role. It's taken the nagging of two ghosts to come to terms with my own emotions," he said, talking nearly more than he ever had since she'd known him. Well, at least about something so personal.

"And…" Mai prompted, her mind scatted so she couldn't think straight.

Naru took a deep breath and spoke the truth. "I think I may be possibly, actually in… love with this clumsy, stupid, weird, funny, beautiful woman," he said slowly, stopping often as if he were as nervous as a teenager picking up his date for prom. He closed his eyes, attempting to keep his calm.

Mai's hopes sank further than they already were. She let her eyes fall as she asked, "What's her name?"

"Taniyama Mai."

Her head jerked up, her mouth opening to yell at him to stop teasing her, but she was cut off by a kiss. She instantly melted. Never had she ever believed she'd get to kiss this man. Never! Her day dreams didn't even compare to the real thing. She pressed closer to him, trying to get as much as she could before he broke away.

They hadn't even come up for air when there was a voice calling for them. "Mai! Naru-bou! You better not be doing anything out here! Mai, you better still be a unicorn!" come Monk's chiding voice from down the trail.

The pair broke apart, panting for breath. Mai groaned in aggravation. "Dammit Monk. Does he always have to butt in and ruin everything?" she pouted quietly, glaring off down the trail.

He smiked. "He better not," he murmured, grabbing her chin and kissing her again.

**THE END**

**I hope you all enjoyed the ending. This was the longest chapter I've written for this story, actually for any Ghost Hunt story that I've done, I think. Anyway, look out for the sequel. It may be awhile with everything else I still have to do, but I'll get too it. Review please :D**

**p.s. – Thank you to everyone who read this story and especially to those of you who left me amazing reviews. You guys kept me going through this whole thing (:**


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